The Most Awkward
by pbw
Summary: Charles is never this awkward. Erik is never this nervous...or smooth.  Rated M for the last chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**The Most Awkward...**

_Taken as a prompt from It's Rayning who wrote back when I kindly asked for a prompt to get me through this...block. This is the prompt: _**Charles and Erik have never been on a date before, I believe. So maybe the children suggest that to Erik, or maybe just bugs him over and over until he finally gives and asks Charles? And then the awkward, blushy date? xD**

_So, to tweak it a little, I'm pulling dear Charles and dear Erik out of the 60's and placing them vaguely in our time...not as college students, because, well, I've read a lot of AU stories with our heroes as college students and while I am not that far off from my college days (Well, maybe I am. Get off my yard, you damn kids!) I just didn't want to write them as college students._

_And yes, this remains painfully unbeta'ed...meaning I know there are plot holes, choices that the characters wouldn't make etc. And for that I sincerely apologize._

_Anyway, I own nothing._

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><p><span>Time when Charles met Erik<span>

_Part One_

Charles Xavier, recently of Westchester, New York, by way of Oxford, England stepped onto the ship - awkwardly. He was unbalanced, dizzy and terribly, terribly awkward. He had been drinking, you see - something his little sister, Raven, warned him **not **to do before boarding the large ship bound for North America and all things New York City.

"Charles," Raven said narrowing her blue eyes, "you shouldn't be drinking before you step onto a very large ship. A ship that will be rocking, mind you." Her hands were on her hips. She had just come home from her waitressing job and was busy surveying the mess that she was supposed to be packing.

"I'm celebrating, my dear, dear sister," came Charles fuzzy supply.

"Dear, dear brother," Raven retorted, "you've been 'celebrating' since last week. Wouldn't it be _nice_ to give your liver a break?" Despite having lived in England for nearly four years, Raven never lost her American accent, while Charles couldn't seem to shake the English accent that had completely obliterated his American one. It was only during times like this, which really were few and far between, that Raven adopted the English accent, if only to slightly mock her older brother.

Charles just merely smiled at his sister sloppily and took another swig straight from the whiskey bottle. Raven rolled her eyes as her brother blew raspberries at her from the kitchen table.

"You'll be sorry," she said in a sing-song voice as she went about her task. Raven, like Charles, had just graduated from college and was heading back to the United States to pursue a master's degree in political science. While Charles, had just successfully defended his thesis and was being offered a position at NYU teaching genetics to medical students.

Charles couldn't say no. He had been giddy since the offer came through, hence the drinking. He just couldn't help himself really. Since coming to England, he had been virtually a hermit plowing through his studies like there was no tomorrow. He enjoyed it greatly, but near the end, just wanted to be done with it.

Raven just sighed and shook her head. "I'm soooo glad I'm not traveling with you," she muttered.

"And I'm sooooo glad to be traveling by myself," slurred Charles. He dropped his bottle of whiskey and stood behind his sister, hugged her hard and burying his face in her shoulders. "Idon'," Charles said in one long rush of words before promptly letting her go and falling down clumsily on to their sofa with a silly smile on his face.

Raven sighed again. "I love you too, Charles," she said and tucked a blanket around him as he promptly fell asleep.

Charles groaned as he was getting his sea legs. _Why does the ship need to move so bloody much? _The ship was not helping his balance, what with the rolling this way and that way. He managed to grip the side rails and steady himself. He could see his sister waving madly from the pier of Southampton. She was obviously yelling something to him, but for the life of him, Charles could not make out what she was saying. He couldn't concentrate hard enough to focus his attention on his beloved sister. So, he merely waved, adjusted his dark sunglasses that hid the brighter parts of the day and concentrated on finding his damn balance.

But it was just not meant to be.

The minute he let go of the railing to find his room, Charles immediately stumbled left and into the arms of a taller man. The other man grunted, catching most of Charles' weight and set him carefully against the wall of the deck.

"Are you okay," the other man asked peering down at the hung over man. Charles could not see the other man's face. It was just too much to do so.

"Yep, thanks for asking," Charles murmured adjusting his sunglasses again. _Damn things want to slide off my face._ The other man was still there looking at Charles with an amused expression on his face.

"You don't seem like it," he merely said, there was an undeniable amused tone in his slightly accented voice.

Finally, Charles looked up at the kind (_and slightly irritating)_ man and was met with a pair of fantastically blue eyes – bluer than even his own – they were more a dark and stormy blue than his own bright crystalline eyes. Charles felt his breathe catch in his throat and the other man merely raised an eyebrow. The man was dressed in head to toe black with a trench coat hanging crisply from his arm. Charles felt his face go red.

"I...um..." Charles was a font of words while he desperately tried to regain his sense of being. It was impossible though with his sudden attraction to the man standing in front of him.

"Would you like some help?" The man with the stormy eyes asked him. Damn, he looked good and Charles…well, poor Charles was just feeling rumpled.

Charles merely nodded, suddenly feeling _very_ awkward indeed. Awkward and rumpled. He sighed internally and wanted to throw himself off the boat in the hopes that this was all a dream.

"Erik Lehnsherr," said the man with the stormy eyes. He extended his hand out to Charles.

"Charles Xavier," Charles replied and shook Erik's hand. Charles felt, no _knew_ that he was delusional. Erik's hands felt like they were throwing off heat. And they were somehow soft and hard at the same time. _How does one have hands like that? _Charles merely smiled at the man and took off his sunglasses - _Damn things were making me look silly anyway - _and Charles could have sworn that Erik inhaled sharply. His too bright (if slightly wide) eyes met Erik's eyes.

They stared at each other for half a minute before Erik cleared his throat. Charles, for his part, thought that maybe, just maybe he felt Erik's sudden lust for him. But he was not quite certain, all things considered.

Erik then smiled at him. _How can one man have so many teeth?_ "Pleasure to meet you, Charles Xavier," Erik said softly. "This must be your room," he said quickly glancing up at the placard. _How did they get to his room so quickly?_

"Oh, right, yes," Charles said fumbling for his key card.

"I'm sure I'll see you around," Erik said and bowed slightly - _Who bows nowadays?_ - before turning around and going the way they had come from. Charles could only stare at Erik's retreating back, noting the way his backside looked in his tight black pants. Charles frowned and shook his head.

"Steady, Charles, steady," he murmured. "No need to jump into something so...ill fated." He sighed and idly thought of Erik in bed before stumbling into his room and thankfully collapsing onto his bed.

"Oh, damn it Charles!" Raven stamped her feet in frustration. "You forgot your passport," she said and tucked the document into her coat.

The first few days out of Southampton were the worst for Charles. All he could do was lie on his bed and try not to dry heave every few minutes. He desperately wished his sister were with him but remembered that Raven would be following him back to New York City in a month. Instead, he ordered room service and ate what he could.

The third day out to sea, Charles finally felt better, if still rumpled, pale and a little worse for the wear. He ventured out to the promenade and carefully strolled along the deck. He was not sure of his footing and wanted to be close to a wall before exploring the rest of the ship.

A slightly familiar voice appeared at his elbow. "Well, I didn't think you would make it out of your cabin," came the amused voice.

Charles turned his head, not trusting himself and was once again greeted by Erik Lehnsherr's dark blue eyes. Charles could only blink dumbly at the man. Erik smiled wider at him, turning Charles into a puddle.

"Yes, well, here I am," Charles finally said, finding his voice.

"Yes, here you are," Erik said amiably. They started walking, slowly for Charles' benefit, on the deck enjoying the sun and the slight breeze coming from the ocean. "The Bay of Biscay is atrocious to sail through. You were not the only one out of commission. Our entire table seemed to be wiped out by the Bay," Erik finally said breaking the comfortable silence that had descended on them.

Charles blinked again. "Our table?"

"Oh, yes. We are seated at the same table. I asked our waiter, Fernando, who else was at the table and when he mentioned your name, I was quite relieved," he said gesturing slightly.

"You were?" Charles could not get more out than just two words. It seemed that this Erik Lehnsherr had stolen all his words from him. Raven would have been shocked. Never had Charles Xavier been at a _loss_ for words.

Never.

"Yes, I don't quite like having to introduce myself over and over again," he said. "I'm a tad bit shy."

"You're shy? That can't be!" Charles said and before he could stop himself, added, "You're much too handsome to be shy!" Charles horrified, clamped his hands over his mouth and turning a fantastic shade of red.

Erik merely laughed and said, "Thank you…and you are much too handsome yourself to be hiding in your cabin." The tips of his ears went a pale pink. What Charles wouldn't have done to lick those ears.

"Erik! There you are! Mother was worried about you," a blonde woman said appearing to Erik's left. Two men crashed into their stopped wives when the blonde appeared. Their wives were none too thrilled, naturally.

"Mother is a worrywart," Erik said fondly. "Emma, this is Charles. Charles, this is my sister Emma," Erik said making introductions. "He is one of the missing at our table," Erik winked, actually _winked_ at Charles.

Emma turned her attention to Charles and smiled at him warmly. "Will you be joining us tonight then? It's so dull with only Mother and Erik there. It will be nice to have someone else to talk to." Off in the distance, Charles noticed a large pot bellied man staring obviously at Emma. Emma noticed and shot a frosty glare in his direction.

Charles, finally finding his voice said, "of course. My apologies for not being there any sooner…I was indisposed."

Emma only laughed and said, "That's code for 'sick to your stomach.'" She winked at Charles and started to pull Erik away. "Come now, Mother wants to speak with you."

Erik sighed and said, "If she starts talking about getting married and having children, I will runaway." Charles' heart sank a little.

"Oh, Erik," Emma said hugging her brother, "Mother just wants you to be happy. You know that."

Erik just sighed and nodded. "Yes, yes, I know." Erik turned to Charles and smiled brightly again at him. "We'll see you at dinner, yes?"

"Yes," came Charles reply.

Emma did not miss look the two men shared. She merely smiled at the younger man and dragged her brother off. Charles stood at the deck and watched them go. Before rounding the corner, Emma shot Charles a look that was clearly intrigued, amused and a bit calculating.

Charles had found a quiet sunny spot on the top most level of the cruise ship. He had just closed his eyes, his book at his side when he heard a throat being cleared. He opened his eyes and quirked an eyebrow at Emma.

"Miss Lehnsherr?"

"Technically, it's Miss Frost. But please, call me Emma," she said and sat down on the empty lounge chair beside Charles.

"Emma," Charles said smiling. He desperately wanted to know where her brother was but managed to keep the question unasked.

Emma settled on the lounge chair and pointedly ignored the stares coming from the other men on the deck with them. Charles merely smiled again; idly comparing her to the other woman he had slept with in the past. Not that there were many, mind you, but enough not to make him a complete and utter _sexual_ hermit. While he found her very attractive, Emma was certainly not his cup of tea. Apparently, he thought suddenly, that _men_ might be his cup of tea. The thought did not appall him, just intrigued him. Apparently, not all men attracted his attention…just one in particular. He caught Emma staring at him with a slight smile on her face.

"You like my brother," she said matter-of-factly. She smiled warmly at Charles as he sputtered his drink all over himself. "I'll take that as a yes," she said patting him gently on the arm. "This is unfamiliar territory, I take it?"

"Is it that obvious?" Charles sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, but only slightly." Here Emma frowned, "What are you going to do when we disembark in New York City?"

"I am taking a teaching position with NYU teaching genetics. Why?"

"I love my brother dearly, despite his faults," she smiled at that, "and if you two are going to pursue a relationship – "

"Now, just wait a second, Emma! One, we just met; two, I have no idea if he's interested in me and three…three…well, I don't have a third. But still!" Charles may not be a native Englishman, but he is certainly acting more English than American.

Emma laughed out right, garnering the attention of more besotted men around them. "Oh, Charles, Erik _is_ interested. Just you wait and see at dinner time! Mother will be just beside herself!"

_Oh, dear._

Needless to say, Charles was a _wreck_ the entire time after his conversation with Emma Frost and dinner with Erik's family. He ran a hand through his hair, frowned when he realized that he had messed up his hair and then got up to re-fix said messy hair. Next to him, his phone began ringing insistently.

"Hello?" he said through gritted teeth. Why wouldn't his hair _behave_? Was it so difficult to lie flat in one direction?

"Charles?" Was the crackly response on the other end; Charles frowned again. That voice was familiar… "Charles? Can you hear me? It's Raven."

"Oh, Raven! Hello! How did you get through? Why didn't you call me on my cell phone?" Charles had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Raven sighed on the other end of the phone. "Because, my darling brother, you left your phone here…along with your passport."

"What?"

"That's what I was trying to yell at you, dodo brains," she said huffing.

"Oh, good Lord," Charles said smacking his forehead in frustration. "If it's not one thing, it's something else." Raven did not miss her brother's tone of voice.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Charles sighed and explained his current predicament. "Oh, _Charles, _ what are you going to do? You can't honestly build a relationship with someone you met on a _boat._"

"Darling girl, _if_ I survive this dinner tonight _then _I will think about what may or may not happen in the future. In the meantime, I have to figure out how to get my passport before arriving in New York City," Charles sighed dramatically. "Be a dear and call up the American Embassy and ask them for advice. My head just hurts too damn much right now."

"How do you get into these situations?" Raven chuckled fondly. "What I wouldn't give to see this dinner, _right now._"

"You are not helping matters," Charles said feeling his jaws lock.

"Stop locking your jaws, Charles. It'll only give you a headache," Raven said almost instantly. Charles could only glare at the receiver in his hand. "And stop glaring at me. It doesn't suit you." Charles sighed. "Okay, what are you wearing?"

"What am I wearing? What does it matter?"

"It matters very much, you brat! Now, tell me what you're wearing," Raven commanded her big brother. After an hour on the phone with his sister, she deemed him fit to go to dinner.

"Now, how exactly do you know what I'm wearing?"

"Oh, well, I _did_ pack your suitcase for you," Raven said smugly.

"I think I hate you," Charles said.

"No. No, you don't," she responded, blew him a kiss through the phone and promptly hung up on him.

Charles looked at himself in the mirror and wanted to throw himself off the side of the boat…again.

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><p><em>Reviews are sweet. Gentle criticisms are sweet and cold...my favorite kind of dessert. )<em>

_I'm halfway through the second chapter and the other chapters won't stop bugging me. Hey, it's my first multi-chapter story! _


	2. When Charles Met Erik part two

**The Most Awkward…**

Time when Charles met Erik

_Part Two_

_Remember, I own nothing. _

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><p>"I've extracted a promise from the last of our missing dinner mates that he will be here tonight," Emma announced amiably. She fluffed her blond hair and did not notice the young man who promptly crashed into the chair behind her. Erik only looked at his sister mildly. Emma shrugged as if to say, <em>that's not my fault.<em>

"Oh, really? And who will be joining us," their mother said, idly looking at the menu.

"His name is Charles Xavier – " Emma began before stopping and asking a suddenly fumbling Erik, "Are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm perfectly peachy, Emma," Erik said his ears turning red as he carefully wiped the drink from his pressed grey suit. His mother only looked at her only son mildly.

"You know, boy-chik…" she stopped and just shook her head. "Never mind."

Erik only raised his eyebrow at his mother while Emma hid her smile behind her glass of wine. Erik, trying to be smooth and nonchalant, carefully scanned the room waiting for Charles to enter. He caught the attention of several adoring passengers, but he paid them no heed. None of them had the brilliant blue eyes of Charles Xavier. He belated realized that he was smitten by the endearingly awkward Charles and that there was nothing he could do about it now.

Erik's eyes continually went to the entrance of the dining room searching for him. Naturally, Emma did not miss this gesture. It was like she was some sort of mind-reader. When Charles finally showed up in the dining room, Erik did not miss his entrance.

Actually, no _female_ (and quite a few male) patrons did not missed Charles Xavier's entrance into the dining room either. He was endearingly awkward as he tripped into the dining room, his hair flopping into his eyes. He was wearing a tweed suit with a bright red tie and was blushing furiously. Erik hid his smile behind the glass he held a little too tightly in his hand. Charles was just too..._perfect _and it made Erik ache (in the most embarrassing of places) just a little seeing him.

Erik watched as Charles looked at the rug beneath his feet, blaming his stumble on it and not on his feet. He smiled apologetically at the woman he bumped into. Erik did not miss the way the woman had suddenly turned coquettish on Charles and Erik wondered how someone this damn sexy, adorable and charming could possibly be single.

The thought saddened him a little. To be sure, there were plenty of people who found Erik Lehnsherr just as sexy, but one would never describe Erik as adorable or charming. Polite? Yes. Brisk? Most definitely. Erik was not a man to be trifled with. He knew what he wanted and was usually very direct.

However, with Charles he felt very...nervous, despite only spending a few hours with him, Charles made Erik feel like a school boy. Never mind his eyes. Like Emma, Erik felt like Charles could see into his very soul and knew what made him _tick._ While this quality made him just a teensy bit edgy - like he usually was around his sister - with Charles he was just _nervous._ And nervous was not one of the words people would use to describe him. Erik swallowed his sigh and resisted the urge to run a hand through his short dark hair.

His mother would have disapproved.

Actually, there were a number of things that Ada Lehnsherr disapproved of regarding her son. Not providing her with grandchildren was top most on her list. Erik thought grimly that she would not have taken kindly to finding out that her darling baby boy was gay. He loved his mother very much. But without the tempering influence of his father (_rest his soul)_, Ada just continued to get out of hand. She was actually a lot like Elizabeth Bennett's mother from _Pride and Prejudice, _well meaning and loving of her children, but very much a busybody. Erik shook his head trying to get rid of the cobwebs and saw Emma raise an eyebrow at her beloved brother.

Emma, also loved her mother (step mother, technically) very much but did not let Ada's interference run her life. She was a woman of her own making and like Erik, knew what she wanted. And what she wanted had not presented himself to her yet. There was only so much interference she was willing to run for Erik, but it was high time that he admitted to their mother about his sexuality. He couldn't put her off forever. And while Ada was not aware of Erik's secret sexuality, Emma was not as willing to be so ignorant. She had forced the truth out of her brother the first time she caught him with another man. Emma sympathized with him, she truly did, but keeping secrets, especially this one, was going to eat Erik alive.

The maître de escorted the slightly bumbling Charles to their table and introduced them to the others seated around the table: Erik and his sister Emma, their mother Ada; Dr. Henry McCoy and Katherine Pryde. Charles murmured greetings to his table mates and sat down gracefully...well, with more grace than he had coming into the dining room. He cannot take his eyes off Erik Lehnsherr. _Oh, bloody hell, Charles. Please try not to embarrass yourself!_

"Mr. Xavier, how wonderful it is to finally meet you!" Ada said . It was clear to everyone at the table that Ada Lehnsherr was a force to be reckoned with. Dr. McCoy and Katherine hid smiles behind their hands and silently sent Charles waves of sympathy. He had no idea what he was getting into.

"Well, thank you, Mrs. Lehnsherr," Charles said trying to regain his composure. Internally, he sighed. _Nice entrance, twinkle toes._ _Honestly. _

"Were you not feeling well?" Dr. McCoy – Hank – asked him, concern on his young face.

"No, I hadn't developed my sea legs," Charles laughed weakly. He felt like all eyes were on him and he could not squash the feeling that he was being grilled about his thesis again...or worse yet, he felt like a _lab rat_. What he wouldn't have done for a _drink._

"That's okay. It seems that most of the boat hadn't either," Katherine – Kitty – said. She smiled reassuringly at Charles.

"Am I the last of the table, then?" Charles asked looking around. He was hoping that there was someone else to deflect this..._attention_ away from him.

"Yes, dear, you are," Ada replied, smiling deceptively and benignly. And then she launched into her barrage of questions.

"So, dear, what do you?" Ada asked.

"I - um...well, I just graduated from Oxford with a PhD in genetics," Charles stated.

"Oh, really!" Hank jumped in. "That's fascinating! What was your thesis about?" Hank was obviously very, very interested in Charles' work and now that he thought about it, he had _heard_ of the brilliant Charles Xavier from Oxford.

Charles was more than willing to fend off Ada Lehnsherr's questions by jumping into something he was familiar with. But it was not to be.

"I'm sure that's all very _fascinating_, Mr. Xavier, but what are you going to do now that you have graduated?" Ada would not be put off by Hank's attempted deflection. Emma could see the spark light up her mother's eyes and sighed. Honestly, how could her mother be so blind?

"Oh, well," Charles began, "I've been offered a teaching position in New York City." Suddenly, Charles felt very, very awkward indeed. He was not used to talking about himself much - he usually relied on his excellent people skills to draw others out, but it had rarely been done to him.

"And what of your parents, dear?" Ada continued as the first course was being offered.

Charles blinked. It certainly had been a long time since anyone had asked him about his parents. Nevertheless, the hurt was still there. "I...um...well, my parents are both deceased," Charles said softly. Erik swiftly glanced over at Charles and noticed the way he swallowed nervously.

"Oh, my dear, I'm so sorry," Ada began and patted Charles' arm.

"It's - ah - alright. They died when I was a teenager, you see. My father died first and then my mother followed not too long after that and then after that I had to keep it together for my younger sister. She's only four years younger than me..." Charles realized that he was beginning to babble and quickly smiled and shut down that line of questioning. That last question, made Charles hurt. He tried to keep the wince from his face, but knew that he did not do a very successful job of it when he saw the looks of sympathy on everyone's faces…save Ada, of course. Oh, she meant well, Charles thought, but Ada made it a point to know _everyone's_ business.

The constant onslaught of questions only served to make Charles' head ache. He did not know how Emma and Erik could stand all these questions from the woman. He tried to be understanding of the her, but the more time he spent in her company, the more he wished he could silence her…or at least put her to sleep.

On more than one occasion through the tortuously long meal, Charles caught Erik's eye. Erik only smiled ruefully and shrugged his shoulders in apology. It truly was the only thing keeping Charles from walking away from the table.

Later, after Emma had successfully convinced their mother to see a show, Charles and Erik finally, finally have some time to _be_ together. Emma smirked at Erik and he could only roll his eyes at her. He silently thanked his sister from steering his mother away from them. Erik knew that Emma was doing him a favor and vowed to help her out in the future.

They walked side by side along one of the many decks of the ship, enjoying the light ocean breeze and the moonlight off the water. Charles' hands are shoved deeply into his pockets and he steals glances at Erik when he think he isn't looking. Charles notes the outline of Erik's profile and tries to etch a memory of it into his brain. He isn't naive, despite what Raven thinks, a shipboard romance could not possibly last much longer after the voyage has stopped.

Erik is looking however at the other man and realized that he could not keep the smile off his face. So, when Charles sneaks another glance at the other man, bright blue eyes meet stormy blue ones. Charles blushed and looked away before biting his lip and grinning back at Erik. Charles couldn't think of anything to say to the taller man and so opted to walk amiably - but silently - with him. His hands ached to just reach out and touch Erik.

Erik, being Erik, broke the ice by jumping back to the conversation they were having before Emma had interrupted them. "So...you think, I'm handsome?" A small grin appeared on his face. He already knew the answer, but what to tease him for it, just slightly.

Charles turned bright red. "I - um...well," Charles was beginning to stammer as his heart sped up. What had possessed him to _say _such a thing?

Erik grinned his grin, which could only be safe to say was his shark grin...which of course, only made Charles stammer even more. Erik gently laughed, feeling suddenly nervous. They rounded the corner and came upon the aft of the ship. They leaned on the railing and watched as the ocean sailed swiftly passed them.

Charles, finally overcoming his awkwardness and nerves, turned to Erik. "So, what do you do?" The moon lit up Erik's face as he watched him answer.

"Me? Oh, I'm an architect," he said simply not entirely going into details. It wasn't as if Erik was shy about his line of work, but he was more interested in hearing Charles speak in that delicious accent than he was in speaking.. "Is this the first time you'll be in the US?"

"The first time?" Charles blinked. _Oh, right, the accent._ "Actually, I was born in New York City," Charles said.

"Really? But the accent," Erik said and finally turned around to face Charles. He is completely and utterly caught off-guard when he realized that Charles has been watching him this entire time. He cannot see the blue of his eyes, but imagined them very clearly. They are arresting, clear and peers straight down into his soul. Erik felt his stomach flip as a zip of lust shot straight through him. He swallowed thickly and finally said, "You sound very English."

Charles smiled and all bets were off then with Erik. Erik knew right then and there that he had to have Charles Xavier. The only question was _where?_

"Well, I have been living in England for the past several years - undergraduate, graduate and then doctoral studies. I was bound to have some sort of accent by the end," Charles replied still staring deeply into Erik's eyes and unconsciously licked his lips.

Finally, Erik could no longer stand it. He grabbed Charles by his tweed lapels and pulled him into his chest. He sees Charles' eyes widen briefly before pressing his lips against Charles' lips. A sigh escaped both men as Charles reached up and grabbed Erik's face pulling him impossible closer. _Too close is never enough. _Erik can feel Charles' thumbs rub the skin around his temples and he sighed contentedly. He smirked as all thoughts of common decency flew out of his head.

Erik was playfully pushing his tongue into Charles mouth, which he willingly obliged. Their tongues swirled and danced as Erik tasted Charles. He never knew that he could fall so easily and so fast with anyone. Charles could feel Erik's lust through clothing and shuddered wanting nothing more than to be rid of all these damn clothes and to have Erik pressed up against him.

Erik's arms pulled Charles flush against his body and he could hear the other man moan as his lips broke away from Erik's. Erik took this opportunity to softly nip at Charles' exposed neck. _No skin should be this pale,_ Erik thought hungrily. He felt Charles hands roaming over his body which brought a growl to Erik's throat. Charles sighed again and pulled back to look into Erik's eyes.

A small doubt creased Charles' forehead. "Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked softly. Charles wouldn't be able to bear it if the answer was negative.

"I've never been so sure in all my life," came Erik's response. But before Erik could bring Charles in for another kiss, he heard a loud wail and _knew, _just knew that it was his mother. And that she had seen them kissing. He felt Charles shudder and wanted nothing more but to protect him from what he knew was going to be a very rough few minutes.

And Erik was exactly right.

"Erik Magnus Lehnsherr," came Ada's shrill cry. "What do you think you're doing?" And then Erik is ripped from Charles' arms and dragged away from him. Ada does not spare Charles a second glance. She was still screaming at Erik at the top of her lungs and Charles can only stare at the pair of them. Charles knows that Erik is an adult and that at any time he can curtly put his mother in her place. But he does not - out of love for the misguided woman.

A soft sigh came from his left side and Charles turned to find Emma standing there. "I told him to tell her months ago. To prepare her if she ever caught him...I'm so sorry, Charles. I really am. I should have leaned on him more to tell Mother. I hope you can forgive him," she said and turned her pale eyes to the man. Emma saw that Charles was trembling and knew that his heart was breaking. "Forgive him," she said again and left Charles to his own devices.

Charles turned away and gazed back at the restless ocean and put his head in his hands and cried.

The rest of the trip is quiet. Charles did his best to avoid everyone. He was quiet and polite to those people that he did manage to run into. Charles even managed to sweet talk the US boarder guards when he told them that he did not have his passport on him. Raven did not know how he managed that, but manage he did.

When Raven arrived in New York City two months, she immediately noticed the change in her brother. When she finally extracted the story out of him, her heart broke for her kind and gentle brother. It was awkward all the way around.

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><p><em>I'm sorry for ending it on such a downer. I like making my characters go through hell before finding their (happy) ending. But fret not, I have about four planned chapters left before the happy ending comes. I even have the next chapter almost finished. <em>

_Okay, so, remember, reviews are bright blue eyes but gentle criticisms are bright blue eyes and stormy blue eyes together. )_


	3. Glimpses

**The Most Awkward…**

Glimpses

_Let me address several things:_

_You guys rock my socks off. I don't think I've ever received this much feedback or story alerts ever. It makes my English-writing majoring self squeal with joy._

_Ada Lehnsherr is, of course, my own creation. And Ada is a composite person of two people who have had some sort of influence in my life. The bad part of Ada comes from my husband's family mythology. The good part again comes from my husband's side of the family. Ada is essentially a good person…even if she is a bit "old world philosophy." Don't hate her. She does mean well._

_The music I'm listening to while writing this sucker up happens to be the soundtracks to Amelie and Micmacs. I don't know why, but these two soundtracks seemed to fit. I wanted something light and airy with hints of something heavier, you know?_

_Painfully unbeta'ed. Grammatical errors seem to be par for the course. _

_Anyway, you know the drill. I own nothing. ;)_

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><p>Several months later, Erik was sitting in a coffee shop idly reading the newspaper and having his morning coffee. It felt good to be out of the house. Erik did not know how much longer he could stand his mother's worrying gaze or his sister's exasperation. He loved them both, but maybe, just maybe he should have left his mother's house long ago. It was not as if he couldn't afford to move out of his mother's house, it was just that whenever he made overtures to the possibility, Ada Lehnsherr would lay on a thick coating of guilt.<p>

While he loved his mother, did not mean that he _liked_ her all the time.

Emma, on the other hand, was giving Erik as much support as she could muster. But being Emma, she could not keep this up for long. She had told him time and time again to either look for Charles or start making a move past him. Erik, she felt, was brooding much too much.

She was right, of course, damn her. But that didn't mean it was _easy_ for him to move on. Not when Charles' brilliant blue eyes haunted his dreams. It was like the man had invaded his mind. So, quietly, he began his search.

Sighing, Erik squeezed his eyes shut. He put a hand to his tired head and briefly glanced up from the newspaper. That was when Erik thought he spied someone familiar on the other side of the street.

Someone in _tweed._

Someone with soft floppy chocolate hair.

Someone who's lips he had dreamed about since the cruise.

Not paying complete attention to the information his tired brain was processing, his attention dropped back down to his newspaper, only for his head to snap back up and stare at the figure, his brain catching up to the figure he saw almost so tantalizing close.

"Charles," Erik whispered almost not believing. What time that wasn't forced to be with his mother, Erik spent feverishly searching for him. Of course, Ada was going about making amends to her son the completely wrong way. Instead of letting her son just be, she whined, begged, and cajoled Erik to spend time with her. She wanted to _understand_ her brilliant son and his frosty attitude towards her did nothing to sway her.

Emma was right; he _should_ have had this talk with his mother months, no_ years_ ago. Oh, how he berated himself for not speaking up any sooner. Since that time, he suffered from many stormy moods. It was only after his mother tentatively suggested that he get some air that Erik could feel a slight tension in his shoulders releasing. He was not sure if the tension would ever be completely gone, but it was helping to ease the pain.

Once Erik realized who was walking across the street, he got up and practically ran out the coffee shop door, crashing into several people, tossing hasty apologies to them. He caught sight of the man with the brilliant blue eyes again, feeling his heart in his throat and a wild hope in his chest. Erik opened his mouth to shout at the man, but was over ruled by the honking horns of cars and buses.

That's when he realized he was standing in the middle of the street. Several cars were stopped all around him and the drivers were yelling at the befuddled man. He looked back to where he last caught sight of Charles but nothing. It was like Charles had been a _ghost_.

Embarrassed, he went back to the side walk and when he looked up to try and vainly catch a glimpse of the figure; but Erik knew that he has lost sight of Charles Xavier again.

Charles waited for the subway car doors to open before he stepped out onto the NYU campus. His forehead leaned up against the glass and he was, strangely, one of the few on the subway this day. His mind was empty and his heart was aching. _Still aching, man up, Charles, it's been months. He's probably moved on. It was just one kiss. Just one small, tiny kiss. Nothing more. _

A movement caught his eye and he glanced up to see that another car pulled up across from his filled to the brim with people. He saw a man in the other car looking directly, almost willing him to look at him. He was dressed in a crisp suit, wearing a fedora against the cooling temperatures of the city.

Bright blue eyes, met stormy blue eyes and recognition hits. Charles smiled wildly at the man and felt his heart soar when Erik did the same. Charles' car finally came to a stop and he was able to rush out to _find_ Erik when they both realize that they are nowhere near each other's stops. Charles can only feel his heart breaking again as he smiled sadly as Erik's car pulled away to his destination, with a frantic Erik.

Raven had finally found a place to study after searching for nearly half an hour. Sitting in the large library, she settled onto the second floor when a young man caught her eye. She glanced up and is met by a pair of ridiculously lovely blue eyes hidden partially by a pair of overly large glasses. Raven then saw that the young man behind the glasses was staring at her as well. Blushing she smiled shyly and so did he. Biting her lip, she got up, temporarily abandoning her stack of books and approached the young man near her.

"Um, hello," Raven whispered to him, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear.

"Hi," Hank McCoy said back to her, completely and utterly entranced.

Ada watched her son when she knew that hewas not looking. Since the _incident_ on the boat, Erik had been withdrawn and more and more unwilling to talk to her about anything. Erik's moods were always a bit stormy but these days they are stormier and seemed never ending. Her heart ached. She knew that her words and actions were the cause of Erik's recent reticence.

But she could not help it. She wanted to shield her son away from what she knew – were busier-bodies than her. She wanted both of her brilliant and lovely children to be _happy_ _and safe._

But she knew, truly knew that Erik will never be happy in a heterosexual relationship.

And so, she made it her _duty_ to find this young man that Erik was so besotted with. She also made it her top duty to apologize to her son daily.

Raven brought Hank home after the first month they start dating. Charles was dying of curiosity and quite frankly wanted to drill the young man with questions; one of which is: does he think he's good enough for his one and only baby sister? He was pacing his study when Raven and Hank arrived home. Charles straightened his tie and put on his best stern professorial face and goes to greet the two love birds.

You can imagine the surprise on their faces when they saw each other. Both men started laughing hysterically and slapping each other on the back. Raven only stood bewildered and off to the side, looking at her brother and her boyfriend. She prepped Hank the entire month about his inevitable meeting with her brother and how he was going to grill him. It was going to be tense but well worth it when Charles decided that Hank is good enough for her. (Not that she really needed it, but things always went better if Charles thought it was _his _idea and not her's.)

But this was not the reaction, Raven had anticipated.

Quite frankly, it was a little disturbing.

But after much discussion, giggling (yes, giggling), Raven finally got the entire story out of both men, with Charles leaving out the whole _incident _saga. She smiled and hugged the two most important people in her life.

Emma watched the dance between her mother and her brother. Neither could truly bring up the white elephant in the room. Emma knew that it needed to be discussed, aired out and consequently forgiven, but their mother cannot bring herself to do it. For all her bravado, Emma knew that Ada Lehnsherr was slightly frightened of her brilliant son. To be fair, Ada was also a bit frightened of Emma as well, but Erik was her first born. Emma sighed wondering how to bridge the gap. It needed to be done forcefully and she wondered how both parties would react to bringing them together with a gun in her hand. She smiled cheekily. She'd never do such a thing, of course, but the thought almost made her giggle.

So, Emma did the next best thing.

She locked them in a room together and demanded they discuss what has needed to be discussed for so long. Emma leaned against the door, waving away servants and listening to the yelling and accusations from both sides and finally stuck her head in when the yelling had died down. Both were sitting on the couch, Ada's arms are around her son and she was whispering, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

And Emma knew that all was going to be well.

Emma knew that Erik was carefully watching her. She knew that her brother was a bit wary of her what with her uncanny ability to read what he was thinking so easily. _What? It's like your broadcasting your thoughts, _she told him one day. Erik only shrugged but still kept his eye on her.

"Well?" Emma asked, arching her eyebrow. She was tired of his watchfulness. She wasn't going to hurt her brother – well, maim him a little for being stubborn, but what sister wouldn't do that to her brother? Emma flipped her hair and behind her, it all the men in the restaurant fell in love with the striking blond woman.

"Well, what?" Erik responded back trying hard not to feel trapped.

"You seem to have something to say," she bit back, not taking any of his usual bullshit.

Erik finally sighed and rested his head in his hands. "I should have listened to you," he said.

"I know," she said gently. Emma has not yet quite forgiven their mother for causing all that trouble on the boat. She was fiercely loyal to both relatives but couldn't stand the way their mother treated the whole situation…it was tactless. She patted his hand, giving it a squeeze before saying, "are you going to try and find him? There can't be that many Charles Xaviers in New York City."

"I've tried, Emma. I've really tried," Erik said sadly and turned away, not bothering to tell her about the two times Erik actually _saw_ Charles but could not physically reach him.

"You'll find him. I know you will."

New York City is one big fucking city. But really, how hard could it be to find just one man with the name of Erik Lehnsherr? Well, actually, harder than it looked. Oh, Charles did not give up hope. That was just not in his genetic make-up; Charles Xavier was a naturally an optimist and thought the best of everyone until proven otherwise.

That did not stop him from despairing from time to time, but he was optimistic that he will find Erik again.

Raven, being more of realist, did not share her brother's enthusiasm. She felt heartbroken for her brother and was more than a little curious about this man who stole her brother's heart. It did not entirely surprise her when Charles declared his love for the man he barely knew. Raven did not care at all that her brother was gay.

"Technically, Raven, I still like women," Charles retorted. There were several dalliances back in Oxford, one in particular with a lovely woman named Moira MacTaggert. But Charles' friend, Sean Cassidy had quietly stolen away his girlfriend and fellow geneticist. There were no hard feelings on Charles part when he saw how happy Moira was with Sean.

"Yeah, but all you can talk about is _him_," Raven pointed out bringing Charles out of his reverie. She instantly wished she hadn't when she saw the crestfallen face of her older brother. So, she keeps her thoughts to herself. She hugged and kissed him every chance she got, never letting him forget that she loved him very much.

Charles _never_ gives up hope.

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><p><em>Don't despair, while this is a shorter chapter, the next chapter is called Meet Cute (Redux). )<em>

_Reviews are marshmallows. Gentle criticisms are smores. _


	4. Meet Cute Redux

**The Most Awkward: **

Meet Cute (Redux)

_Thank you so much, y'all for all the reviews, follows and alerts! It makes this girl extremely happy. Honestly, I can't thank you enough. _

_So, some things I need to address: I don't live in New York City and therefore don't know how the subway works. My apologies if something seems off. _

_Also, I don't necessarily know if NYU has a medical school, let alone a genetics department. I'm going to go ahead and say yes…if only for the purposes of the story. I thought about how hard it would be to find the names Xavier and Lehnsherr. Perhaps, harder than expected? _

_Also, I know that Charles told Erik and his family that he was teaching at NYU – so that alone should be enough to track Charles down. But you know, universities are notoriously stingy on information regarding professors. _

_Yes, I keep oscillating between one and two months regarding Raven's arrival in the US. And yes, I know I deliberately left out Charles sweet talking the US Border guards into letting him back into the country without his passport. This will be addressed in another story. I promise. Also, being addressed later? Emma Frost. She's a riot to write. _

_Also, I predict other stories in this particular AU – now known as the Awkward!U. Seriously. It's awkward to write, much less say. _

_By the way, I know almost nothing about genetics. My apologies if it just sounds idiotic. _

_Oh, one more thing, the timing of the last chapter (Glimpses) is supposed to weave in and out of this chapter…depending on which section you're reading. Which brings me to another point…my apologies for the formatting; naturally it looks one way on my laptop and then another way on the website. _

_Remember, I own nothing!_

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><p>Charles was not in the mood.<p>

For anything.

Ever again.

He did the one thing that he swore he would never do on a cruise: hook up and then have the _audacity_ to fall in love with said hook up. The mind – no, the _heart_ – was a terrible, terrible thing. He wanted to rip it out of his chest, stomp on it and watch it die. But that is not the way Charles works, you see.

Instead, he just looked around his recently acquired walk-up and sighed. It would still be another two months, before his sister arrived. And he wasn't planning on spending the next two months _moping._ He had classes to get ready for. He had students. He had _plans._ And apparently, those plans didn't give a fuck if he accidently fell in love.

Charles wanted to break open the bottle of whiskey he bought from the store, but thought better of it. It was getting drunk, he felt, that was at the bottom of everything currently wrong in his life. So, Charles Xavier newly arrived in New York City, rolled out his yoga mat (no time for furniture buying yet) and promptly went to sleep.

He didn't dream of stormy blue eyes. At least, that's what he told himself in the morning.

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><p>On the other side of the city, Erik Lehnsherr laid in his bed, irritated, forlorn and horny as hell. Having his mother find out that her bouncing baby boy was gay in the way she found out, was not how he…envisioned it. After he had calmed his mother down (with drinks – many, many drinks), Erik could find neither hide nor hair of Charles. And he so badly wanted to find Charles. He wanted to apologize for the way his mother behaved. For the way things…ended. He wanted to start things fresh with Charles…but no.<p>

Against all odds, Erik wanted to start a relationship with Charles, despite the contrary. But try as Erik might, he couldn't find the man with the brilliant blue eyes. No one on the cruise would be bribed into telling Erik where Charles had hidden himself away.

He sighed and rolled over, his heart still stinging freshly. He stared at the clock beside him and wondered if he would ever get Charles' blue eyes out of his head ever again.

For all the power and influence in the world, it seemed that Erik Lehnsherr would not be getting his way, this time.

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><p>Raven finally, <em>finally<em>, arrived in New York City and was thrilled to be with her brother again. But as time passed, Raven noticed that Charles was quiet and withdrawn. The first few times she asked him about it, Charles merely waved her off and gave her vague murmurings. The next few times, Raven got more bullheaded about getting a clear answer from her usually cheerful brother. Still, Charles wouldn't give her anything to work with.

The last time Raven asked about his mood, she stalked Charles and pinned him down and threatened to beat the shit out of her brother.

"You're much stronger than you look, my dear sister," Charles said wincing and rubbing his ribs. He was flat on his back in his study with a thoroughly pissed off Raven on top of him.

Raven only smirked in response. "Talk Charlie," she said purposefully using the nickname he so hated. "Where's my brother and what have you done with him?"

"I hate that fucking nickname," Charles darkly muttered. This drew a raised eyebrow from his sister. "What? You know I hate it."

"You said fuck," she said a little startled.

"Yeah? So, what of it?"

"You are _not_ getting out of this so easily with a word, Charles Francis Xavier," Raven said. "Now, since I've been here, you've been nothing but _moody_. What happened on the boat? What are you refusing to tell me?" Raven asked, her voice growing softer and gentler. She knew that _something_ had happened, but was clearly fuzzy on the details.

Charles squeezed his eyes shut. "Could you please get off me? It's already an undignified story without having to tell it from the floor while being pinned by my baby sister."

"By your _strong_ baby sister," she said grinning and helped her brother off the floor. They sat side by side in front of the empty fireplace while Charles recounted the story to his sister: of how he met Erik, fell head over heels for him, had dinner with him and his family, kissed Erik (passionately) only to be outed by a very shrill Ada and finally to his self-imposed exile on the ship. During the story, Raven got up and poured two stiff drinks: one for her heartbroken brother and one for her. She felt outraged beyond belief wanting to throttle this Ada Lehnsherr woman for causing such pain in her kind and gentle brother. _The world is just not fair sometimes. _

They sat there side by side with Charles' head on Raven's shoulder as the day slowly turned into night.

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><p>Erik was trying (no, really being forced) to get Charles Xavier out of his system. After the forced talk brought about by Emma, Ada was bound and determined to introduce Erik to every eligible single Jewish man within the tri-state area. And it was making Erik's head pound like crazy.<p>

"You've got to give it to Mother," Emma said after another disastrous date, "When Mother sinks her teeth into something, she _really_ sinks her teeth in." She handed Erik a two aspirin and a glass of water and then proceeded to make a strong whiskey sour for herself.

Erik passed a hand through his short dark hair, while eyeing her drink. While there was nothing _wrong_ with his date, Erik could do nothing to erase Charles' eyes from his mind. He was beginning to think that it was time to move on. Surely, Charles had? No one as brilliantly handsome as Charles Xavier could possibly be pining or waiting for him.

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><p>Today was Charles' first official day of teaching. And all he wanted to do was turn and duck back under the covers. This was not a time for his courage to fail but, clearly it was going to fail him badly.<p>

First of all, there were so many _people _not just on campus but in the fucking _city._ Charles could never completely over the feeling of having so many people, so many _minds_ crushing in all around him. It simply made his head pound some days. And today was no exception. It took everything he had to carry on through his first day.

While Charles was very good at reading people and their volatile emotion, he could not _help_ but read people constantly through the day; however it was completely and utterly exhausting to him. He didn't want to be so good at reading people, but he couldn't help it. It was some sort of weird gift.

Second of all, if he were honest, which sometimes (most times) he _wasn't_, Charles really was still pining for Erik. After seeing him on the train, it broke apart whatever small reserve Charles had…which was to say, none at all. Usually, he had an infinite reserve of "stiff upper lip," but whenever it concerned Erik, well, Charles had nothing to fight it. Erik was in his mind _constantly_ and it was beginning to wear thin on the professor. Charles found himself wondering what Erik was doing at various moments throughout the day: was he reading? Was he talking to someone? Was he thinking about him? The thoughts played over and over again in Charles' mind, as did the kiss they shared on the boat.

And third of all, Charles still felt out of place in New York City, despite having grown up there. He never felt completely at ease in the city, preferring the house his parents held in the country, but if he was going to make a name for himself, which he wanted to Charles was going to have to stick to living in the city. Certainly, on days like this, he felt more English than American. It would take more than a few months to erase whatever _Englishness_ he had and regain his sense of self in the city.

If he were truly honest, Charles Xavier felt foreign (and very tiny) to his own city.

Charles had a bad habit (several according to his sister) of bumping into people and today was no exception to the rule. Already, Charles had crashed into several students sending their books flying through the air, the head of the department, spilling his lunch on the floor and his elderly neighbor who gave him the evil eye. And despite all his fumbled apologies, the old crone would not accept Charles' words. _Well, you bloody fool. You did almost break her hip!_

"Oh, Charles," Raven said earlier that morning. "You're not supposed to _look_ rumpled until the last day of school! Not the first day!" She then pulled him closer to her and tried to straighten out his clothing. She fussed and pulled and tucked until finally, Charles shooed away her hands trying not to snap at his concerned sister.

"Raven, Love, I'm forever going to be rumpled in some capacity or another. Let them find out on day one, shall we?" He said smiling a bit. He noticed her pensive look and sighed. He then said, "I promise not to be mopey, dopey, broody or frumpy sad cakes today." Raven burst out laughing and hugged her brother hard.

"You'll be just fine," she said, feeling her heart swell in pride.

_Well, she was wrong,_ Charles thought bitterly. Not only had he spilled his tea on his new tweed jacket, but he almost lost his briefcase on the subway and almost got the dean of the school _killed_ when Charles bumped into him and caused the man to lose his balance in the face of an oncoming car. Charles sighed with that last one. _If I am not killed soon by my own devices, someone might bloody well do it themselves!_

So, Charles was irritable and practically bit the heads off the students in his first class. _This will earn me a bad reputation,_ he thought. _And besides you chooses to attend a class at eight o'clock in the morning? _ Charles was one for trying diplomacy over force and biting the heads of students was not what he had in mind. He glanced at himself in the mirror and tried to straighten his clothing. Charles looked especially rumpled today. _They certainly don't give tenures to professors who look like they slept in their clothes!_

He took a deep breath before his second class, refocused his energy and tried to present himself better to the students. He felt better, especially when a vaguely familiar face caught his eye. Charles cocked his head to the right and looked at the student again as the class ended. The student saw his stare and smiled at him tentatively. She tucked a stray brown lock behind her ear, stood up and gathered her belongings.

"Hello, Professor Xavier," Kitty Pryde said and extended her hand. She was the same Katherine Pryde from the cruise ship and Charles swallowed a lump as he remembered. _She still looks too young!_ _How old is she really?_

"Oh! Kitty! I remember now!" Charles said pushing the thought of Erik out of his head.

"How are you?" She asked politely. Kitty had heard the commotion (and really, who hadn't?) with Mrs. Lehnsherr the day after the fact and felt particularly bad for the man standing in front of her. In a show of silent solidarity, both she and Hank had refused to eat at the same table as Ada. Kitty missed Emma and Erik's company but she had to do something….even if it was entirely lost on the older woman. Like Erik, Kitty and Hank had searched high and low for Charles, but had little success. They felt partially responsible for not telling Mrs. Lehnsherr off and demanding that she apologize to Charles.

"I'm doing well." _No, I'm not. _He smiled at the young lady and Kitty smiled back. _Well, you've got to fake it till you make it, I suppose._ "So, tell me truly, how am I doing in my first class? Have I totally and completely blown it for everyone in the class? Do they all think I'm evil and hate me," Charles eyes recapture the old twinkle and sparkle a bit.

Kitty did not miss the way his eyes sparkled but felt just a tiny bit _weird _for feeling a little weak kneed when she noticed it. Instead, Kitty squashed the feeling choosing instead to focus on his question. She smiled and lit up answering it. She might have been biased, since genetics was her absolute _favorite _subject and having someone – someone like Charles Xavier – was absolutely a coup. No one seemed to be on her level anyway, which is how Charles and Kitty Pryde end up in a coffee shop.

Charles did have the chance to speak with the young lady while on the cruise, certainly not with the captivating Erik Lehnsherr there. But in the time he spent talking with her Charles realized that Kitty had a brilliant and sharp mind. _When the time comes_, he decided, _Kitty Pryde will be offered a teaching assistant position – provided she hasn't been scooped up by another professor._ Charles made a mental note of the thought and tucked it away for later use. They talked animatedly about genetics and the ever changing nature of evolution.

"What do you think is the next step for humankind?" Kitty asked, sipping her hot chocolate delicately. They had been sitting there for hours, with no other classes that first day, enjoying each other's company. Charles could almost hear Raven's voice saying that he had found another geek. He smiled as he thought of his lovely – if a bit cranky at times – sister.

"The next step for humankind? Well, I believe it would have to be dictated by where in the world they are living. I mean, take fishermen in the North Atlantic. It would be natural – if it hasn't already – if these fishermen developed immunity to the stinging cold or webbed feet; to perhaps, develop a necessary mutation in response to their environment. This same mutation would not make sense though, for the Berbers of Northern African to develop the same webbed feet as Northern Atlantic fishermen."

"So, it's random then?"

"Well, no. Not completely random. Perhaps, for large groups of people the same mutation might pop up. Here, though, in the city, mutations most certainly would become highly varied depending on the person and not necessarily on the climate situation."

Kitty nodded enjoying the back and forth of the conversation. Suddenly, her cell phone started to ring. "Excuse me, Professor," she said and stood up to take her call outside of the coffee shop.

Charles looked around and felt at ease currently. Maybe this was what he needed. Maybe what Charles needed was to jump back in academics. He smiled ruefully at no one in particular. Who was he kidding? It was going to take more time and more classes to erase the memory of Erik Lehnsherr's lips on his. He sighed and stood up to order another cup of tea, absentmindedly, smoothing his rumpled suit.

It was several hours after that when Kitty and Charles decided to call it an evening. After making sure that Kitty was safely ensconced in her apartment, Charles walked to the subway station to catch a train home. Little did Charles know that he was going to be catching more than just transportation.

* * *

><p>Erik felt his eyes crossing, literally, felt his eyes crossing. He opened his stormy blue eyes and thought there might be two of the man sitting across from him. This, by far, was <em>the <em>worst date that he had ever been on. Where his mother found these poor men was beyond Erik's capacity to understand. The current date he was on _(Just what was his name again? Jamie?)_ had not stopped talking about his own accomplishments and had asked Erik no questions about himself. _Typical,_ Erik thought bitterly, _just when I get comfortable with my sexuality it seems all the eligible men in New York City have gone stupid_. After pointedly looking at his watch five times straight, the poor man just did not get the hint. Erik wanted to scream and punch him in the face.

But he was much too polite to do so. Even so, Erik felt his left eye begin to twitch.

Even after Erik had bid him a good night, with no promises to call for a second date, the man still insisted on having Erik accompany him home and _chattering_ his ear off.

_I am not giving this man a kiss, _Erik thought_. I certainly hope he keeps his hands to himself. _

However, his date had other ideas. He became increasingly drunk and more handsy with Erik. It took Erik all has not to beat some sense into this man. When they reached the stairs leading to the man's apartment, he practically dragged Erik up the stairs. And Erik, in turn, practically dragged himself away from the oblivious and obnoxious man. Erik lost his footing however and began to tumble down the stairs. _Oh, I'm fucked, _thought Erik carelessly, _it'll just cap off a topper of a day!_

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Charles said catching Erik in his arms. The street lamp flickered dimly before taking its light away. They were engulfed in partial darkness.

From above them in the apartment, they heard, "Well, if you didn't want to come inside, you could have told me," said Erik's obtuse date before the loud bang of his door closing.

Erik grumbled and regained his balance, trying to free himself from his rescuer's arms. "Thank you for cushioning my fall," Erik said trying not to sound huffy and indignant. He began to take his arm away from the other when he realized that his arm was being gripped a little tightly. "Um, excuse me, could you please let go of my arm?" Erik was getting grumpier by each passing second, his head was throbbing, his shoulders were tight and he still, it seems, had to fend off another handsy stranger.

"Erik?" Charles asked his eyes wide. He cannot believe his luck…or his eyes. He was peering at Erik closely trying to figure out if Erik was real. Charles cannot believe anything currently, he was in too much shock and disbelief. He felt that he was in a dream and if he asked too many questions, this man in front of him _just might disappear into thin air. _

And that possibility nearly killed Charles.

"Charles?" Erik was equally shocked. He felt his stomach suddenly flipping end over end. He squinted slightly into the darkness to make sure that it _was _Charles Xavier, object of his fantasies, desires and needs. He pulled the other man under a working street light to get a better view of him. They stared at each other, mouths open while a million thoughts zipped through their heads.

And then it was all they could do to keep their hands off the other as they crash together all lips, tongues and hands. They were drunk off seeing each other again and when they reluctantly pulled away they were grinning madly. Neither man spoke clearly as Erik hailed a cab.

Briefly, Charles' head cleared and he said, "We should probably go back to my house. My sister will be at Hank's," he added shyly. Erik grinned a Cheshire cat grin and nodded. They barely contained themselves in the cab with their frequent touching and passionate kissing. And while the cab driver had seen a great many things in the backseat of his cab, it makes Armando squirm ever so slightly with the air thick with sexual tension. They paid the cab driver handsomely as Charles yanked Erik to his walk-up and into the front door.

Raven and Hank were there sitting on the couch in the living room, watching a movie. They blinked at the two men stumbling into the house and then after a beat Raven smiled broadly as Hank blushed and fumbled, finally grinning himself. Charles gave them a giddy wave and continued up the stairs with a breathless Erik in tow.

"Was that Hank?" Erik stripped Charles of his clothes and flung them all over the large bedroom. Charles pinned Erik against his bedroom door as he kissed him, slipping his hands underneath Erik's starched white button down. Erik ran his hands along Charles' torso bringing a moan of ecstasy from the professor.

"Yes, with my sister, Raven." Charles manhandled Erik onto his bed, tugging his zipper down. He paused a second before adding, "They're dating," before plunging his hand into Erik's trousers and wrapping his hand around his ever-growing length. Erik loses his sight for a second before reeling it back in. He can feel Charles' hand squeezing him gently and it is almost too much.

Erik pulled Charles to him, feeling their cocks brushing against each other. It brought moans from both men and Charles can't help but grind against the man underneath him. All useful thoughts seem to slip through Charles' head. "And apparently, it seems that we are as well," Erik said and smiled seductively.

"Oh," was all Charles could say before Erik forced his head back down and fumbled their mouths together. Erik teased his tongue into Charles' mouth and they remain there until breathing without air is no longer an option. Charles was flipped onto his back with a wickedly grinning Erik above him and then all thought and coherent words are pushed from both their minds.

* * *

><p>Downstairs Raven and Hank were trying very hard to keep their blushes from their faces, but was hard to do so when all they can hear are moans of pleasure, the thumping of bedsprings with the occasional demands of <em>moremoremore.<em> Hank finally turns to Raven and suggested "Why don't we go back to my place?"

Raven quickly agreed and practically ran out the door with Hank right behind her. They were in Hank's car before the giggling overtook them. They were laughing uncontrollably, sides hurting. Hank took Raven's hand and whispered conspiratorially, "We should give them a run for their money," and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Raven dissolved into another fit of giggles before pulling Hank to her and said, "I'd love to."

* * *

><p>Erik was curled into Charles' side, legs and arms tangled while sheets, pillows and blankets were thrown to the floor. They were panting heavily with grins on their faces. Erik was throbbing in places that he did not know <em>could <em>throb and Charles thought that it will take considerate effort to walk properly tomorrow.

Charles rolled over onto his side as his eyes are pulling Erik into focus. He still could not believe that Fortune has finally decided to smile on them. Who would have thought it? Erik caught his eyes and was suddenly shy and nervous. Charles Xavier was practically perfect in every way in Erik's eyes. Charles cupped his hand around Erik's face, trying to convince himself that this was _real_. That Erik Lehnsherr has somehow mysteriously materialized in his bed…naked.

"Are you real?" Charles finally whispered, fervently hoping that indeed Erik is real. Erik felt the professor's thumb caress the skin next to his eye tenderly.

Erik laughed at the question and pulled him closer to him, foreheads touching. "Are _you_ real?" Erik asked back and kissed him softly.

"You better be here in the morning, when I wake up," Charles said mock sternly, wrapping his arms and legs around Erik.

"On my honor," Erik said and kissed Charles' eyes shut.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Charles woke to the sound of birds chirping outside. He was content and happy. The morning sun was filtering in through blinds spotlighting dust motes that floated through the air. He rolled over to his side and reached an arm towards Erik. He finds, though, that Erik was missing. He sat up abruptly and saw the mess they've made the night before. Clothes strewn all over the place, pillows, and blankets on the floor along with a table lamp, the bedside table and books. Charles' face blushed red at the images that flashed through his brain, but there was still no sign of Erik. Charles, tried to keep his cool wrinkled his forehead in thought. He tried vainly to keep his emotions at bay when he heard something coming from somewhere in the house.<p>

Or rather _someone._

And that someone was singing. Opera. In Italian.

Confusion has now settled upon Charles. He got up, put on his boxers and wandered downstairs to where the voice is coming from. Charles wondered if he should put on more clothing, in case Raven and Hank are here but decided against it. They probably cleared out not too long after Erik accidentally knocked the lamp onto the floor last night. He smiled sheepishly and decided that he will cook dinner for the two at a later date. _I've probably scarred Raven for life. Not to mention Hank._

Charles came upon his kitchen and pushed the door open to find Erik, clad in nothing but boxers, cooking breakfast. Charles blinks. Apparently, the breakfast was for them. Then Charles could not keep the smile off his face. Erik felt someone watching him and turned to see Charles standing there grinning madly.

"I…um…er…decided to make us breakfast," Erik said smiling nervously. Charles could help but feel his heart swell in love and gratitude.

"You were singing…in Italian," Charles said and walked toward the other man wrapping his arms around his torso. Erik blushed and shrugged, enjoying the younger man's arms around him. "Could you sing some more?" Charles asked hopefully gazing up and into the stormy blue eyes. Though now, Erik's eyes were no longer that stormy blue but have now settled into a calm deep blue, found in the ocean only after a storm. Erik smiled and obliged the other man while he turned to continue his cooking. They were wrapped in each other's gazes and continued in this way throughout breakfast and after while they are cleaning up. Charles idly glanced at the clock in the kitchen and shock shoots through him.

"Oh, my god!" Charles said and began to panic.

"What? What?" Erik was next to him about to place a kiss on his collarbone. He was stock still, wondering if the other shoe was going to drop.

"I have class in two hours and I'm nowhere near prepared!" Charles said and scrambled out of the kitchen. Erik could only blink at the man that is now Hurricane Charles. But before Charles was out the door, he turned around and pressed up against Erik kissing him passionately. He lost his balance and both were now on top of the kitchen table. Erik could help but feel aroused all over again. Charles wanted very badly to possess Erik all over again, but he thought about his duties and said instead "I'll see you tonight, yes?"

Erik was breathless and can only nod feeling that he is on cloud nine and then Hurricane Charles was running back out the kitchen door and upstairs, apparently getting ready for his classes. Erik grinned rolling himself off the table and thought that he would have to learn Charles schedule just to keep him on track.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, Erik was stuffing his perpetually rumpled boyfriend into a cab and told the cab driver, who looked suspiciously like the same driver from last night, to get him to NYU as fast as he could without hurting anyone.

The cab driver only rolled his eyes as Charles was literally throwing Erik kisses. The things he had to adapt to.

Secretly, though, he was glad to see what love could do to people.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Meet cute:<strong>__ a convention of __romantic comedies__ in which two potential romantic partners meet in a contrived way in unusual or comic circumstances. A staple of the romantic genre, the technique creates an artificial situation contrived by the filmmakers in order to bring together characters in an entertaining manner. Frequently the "meet cute" leads to a humorous clash of personalities or beliefs, embarrassing situations, or comical misunderstandings that further drive the plot…. Ebert admits that he, as the screenwriter, wrote into the script a "classic Hollywood meet cute." He explains the meet cute as a scene "in which somebody runs into somebody else, and then something falls, and the two people began to talk, and their eyes meet and they realize that they are attracted to one another." – taken from Wikipedia _

_I know nothing about opera. My apologies._

_Reviews are puppies. Gentle criticisms are puppies licking your face. _


	5. Glimpses part two

_And just to break up the flavor a bit, here's the aftermath. And yes, there's that whole verb thing. But it sounded better me in this verb tense than any other. Oh, just go with it!_

_And yes, I've decided to write a story with this AU's Emma. Like I said, she's a fucking riot to write…and besides, Ada has to focus on someone else now!_

_Remember, I own nothing._

* * *

><p><span>Glimpses (part 2)<span>

"What if he's hurt!" Ada Lehnsherr is beside herself.

"He's not hurt, eema," Emma says trying to soothe her mother. She uses the old endearment trying to distract her.

It doesn't work however.

"We should call the police!"

"Mother! He's 34 years old! He can take care of himself!" Emma is well and truly appalled now.

"But, but," her mother says wringing her hands.

"Mother, have you considered the thought that the date might be _going well_?" Emma arches an eyebrow.

"I…oh," Ada blushes but has stopped her hand wringing. "Could you…call him again?"

"Yes, Mother, I will call him again, once you are upstairs and in bed," Emma says trying not to be annoyed. If Emma is honest, which she is…sometimes…Emma would have told her mother that she had no intention of calling Erik. And quite frankly, hadn't even bothered calling him when it turned midnight. _That's the mark of a good date,_ she said to herself.

* * *

><p>Raven and Hank are entangled. They are on the floor of Hank's apartment and Raven is laying on Hank's chest smiling. There is something digging into Hank's back and he carefully fishes behind him until he pulls the keys out of his back.<p>

"Think we gave them a run for their money?" Hank asks, running his hand through Raven's long blonde hair.

"I don't know. We should try again."

"You got it."

* * *

><p>Raven approaches the house a little apprehensively. She cannot wait to hear the dirt from her brother but at the same time does not want to walk into anything…<em>awkward.<em> The sounds coming from her brother's bedroom last night, guarantees that she won't be looking her brother in the eye any time soon. Raven smoothers the thought trying to keep her face neutral. She opens the front door and hears singing.

_That's odd. Charles can't sing for the life of him._ And then she steps into the kitchen, the source of said singing, to find a half dressed Erik Lehnsherr cleaning the kitchen.

"OhmydearLordinheaven," she says and immediately covers her eyes and dropping her purse.

"Oh, fuck," is Erik's only response.

"You better be Erik or else I'm calling the cops," Raven says her hands still covering her face.

"I am," he says and quickly grabs his shirt. He turns around as Raven slowly uncovers her eyes. "I'm decent," he finally says, the amusement finally showing through.

"About time," she mutters. She looks Erik head to toe, an unreadable look on her face.

"Yes?" Erik feels a bit nervous around Charles' sister. Raven can be quite intimidating when she wanted to be.

"If you break my brother's heart, I will hurt you," Raven finally says crossing her arms.

"I'll never hurt your brother," Erik solemnly says, looking her in the eye.

Raven finally smiles and goes to give him a tentative hug. "Let's get some things straight, okay? Could you not walk around without a shirt on? Charles and I can't both be distracted. Also, I think you should know about his perpetual absentmindedness…and his penchant for all things tweed," she says grinning. If there's one thing Raven loves, it's talking…gossiping about her beloved, disheveled, perpetually rumpled brother.

"I was just treated to his absentmindedness," he says laughing thinking about the event that has now been dubbed "Hurricane Charles."

"Did he miss class?" Raven's hands fly to her mouth. Erik can only laugh.

* * *

><p>Erik can't help but grin. He knows he looks the fool, but he's a fool <em>in love<em>. When he arrives at home the next day, he is bombarded by questions from his mother and Emma…well, mostly from his mother.

"Where were you?"

"We were so worried!"

"Why didn't you call us?"

"Why didn't you pick up the phone?"

"The date went the badly?"

"Why are you grinning so much?"

A sharp intake of breath, "the date went that good?" This really was Emma's only question.

Erik can only put up his hands trying to placate them. He is too happy to be annoyed by their questions. "Mother, the date went _terribly_, please don't set me up on any other dates. Charles would not approve." And with that, he leaves two speechless women in his wake as he goes upstairs to shower. Erik works from home, most days, but today he has a meeting and he must get ready for it. Truly though, all he can think about is Charles. And really, who can blame him?

He is half-dressed and shaving when he hears his bedroom door open. Erik quirks an eyebrow as his sister leans against the bathroom doorframe. She is smiling as she crosses her arms.

"Oh, ye of little faith," she says without preamble.

"Indeed," is all Erik says and continues to shave. Truly, it is downright _scary _how Emma can read his mind. He tries to be aloof but cannot keep the smile off his face. "Ouch," he says as he nicks himself.

"Now, now, we mustn't mar that beautiful face of yours for Charles," Emma says amusement lacing her silky voice as she hands him a tissue. Erik has that grin on his face again. "Oh, dear," Emma says, "Must I resort to wearing sunglasses while I am around you? Your teeth are frighteningly white and _numerous_."

"Oh, be quiet," Erik says trying to sound grumpy and annoyed. The smile mars the effect though. Emma nods and goes to leave Erik in his happy state. But Erik's voice calls her back. "Emma?"

"Yes, Erik?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Sharkie."

* * *

><p>Kitty is sitting in her usual seat. She is early, naturally and is going over her notes from yesterday's class. Two girls walk in both talking excitedly. Kitty glances up and waves at the two girls. They are bubbling over with gossip.<p>

"What going on?" Kitty asks them. Kitty has worked hard to befriend other students in her classes. She is after all, only eighteen. Kitty smiled a little smugly to herself. _And here I am hanging with post-doc students._

"Professor Xavier must have gotten laid last night!" says Cecilia Reyes.

"Yeah, Piotor Rasputin, from Professor Xavier's first class, said that he was like a completely different person," Ororo Munroe says while tying her lovely white hair up in a bun. Kitty blushes slightly at the mention of the tall Russian.

Cecilia notices Kitty's blush. She leans into Kitty and says softly, "he like you too."

Kitty blushes even harder and lightly smacks Cecilia. "No, he doesn't! Why me when there are others?"

"Oh, he likes you alright," Ororo chimes in, gently teasing the younger woman.

Charles walks in with a spring in his step and a large smile on his face. The change in Charles' character does not go unnoticed. He commands the attention of everyone in the room and his students (particularly the female ones) cannot help but fall in lust with Charles' sparkling blue eyes. He even winks at several of them causing stammering and gentle laughter.

"Oh, man. I never knew he was such a hottie," remarks Ororo. "Whoever his girlfriend is, she's pretty damn lucky!"

_Or boyfriend_, Kitty thinks. Inspired she runs back into the classroom and making sure no one else sees her, gives a surprised Charles an overwhelming hug.

"_You found him,_" Kitty whispers and rushes back out of the room…leaving an extremely happy Professor Xavier in her wake.

* * *

><p><em>I'm sure the references to well known canon characters were caught, but did you catch the other catch the other canon X-Man character in here?<em>

_Also, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. Call it an appetizer? Anyway, after this chapter there are only two more chapters left and then this story will be done. Yes, there. I said it. Done. But do not despair. My little, tiny brain is working overtime with characters of this AU. They're a demanding bunch. _

_Reviews are new journals. Gentle criticisms are well-loved journals. _


	6. The First Date

First Date

_And now, we get to the penultimate chapter which is the original prompt comes from…the blushy, awkward (real) first date between Erik and Charles. Oh, yes. It will be blushy. It will be awkward. And sadly, after this chapter is done there will only be one chapter left. And if you're paying attention…or have a plain good guess, you'll know where the last chapter has to end._

_By the way, I have no knowledge of the NYU campus. My apologies if I have accidentally insulted your Alma matter. I based it on my own college experience._

_Oh, and painfully unbeta'ed. Grammar and plot holes are, of course, par for the course._

_Anyway, I own nothing._

* * *

><p>Erik had only been on the NYU campus a few times before Charles and it slightly confused him every time he was there. The disorientation only added to the sudden nerves that he felt currently. He wanted to turn tail and head home and fidget in his office while he waited for Charles to return but he didn't. He stood his ground, whatever his swirling emotions wanted him to do. In truth, there should not have been any apprehension on his part, but Erik couldn't help but feel it ever so slightly.<p>

Perhaps, it was the way he felt with this relationship with Charles. Sometimes (most times) Erik thought it was just a very, very lovely dream, filled with love, happiness, contentment and other such things found at the end of a romance novel. Erik, naturally, was never one for the whole 'happily ever after' and he couldn't believe that it would happen to _him._

Or perhaps, it was the way he felt every time he thought that this man was his other half, his other self, his _other soul._ And without his rumpled professor, Erik now knew that he was only half a person and while he normally did not subscribe to the notion that a partner/loved one/spouse _completed_ a person, Erik nonetheless felt _whole_ with Charles. It's like he had been missing something very, very important for a very long time without Erik knowing about it.

Or perhaps, the apprehension came from the way that Charles' department head looked at him on the first day he was on campus, with that ever knowing, ever smug smile that he wore so often. Erik saw the man look straight thru him, almost like he was being cut in half and examined. The head of the department gave Erik the eye as if assessing how he could fit into his plans for world domination. Erik squashed his feelings regarding the odious and vile department head.

"_He's got some weird turn on to make everyone feel so inferior," Erik said to Charles one night as they lay in Erik's bed. All lights were off and Ada was playing mah jong at a friend's house while Emma was out on one of her numerous dates. All was peaceful in the Lehnsherr household. Erik was absently caressing Charles' hair which was sticking up in different directions while Charles was lightly tracing circles on Erik's chest._

_Charles only laughed and kissed Erik's muscular shoulder, making the other man shudder. "I suppose surviving a massive head trauma might do that to some people," he said lightly and resumed making the lazy circles. "He can't help it. I even heard rumours that he was actually nice once in his life, not that I particularly believe them myself, mind you." _

"_I wouldn't bet on it," Erik muttered darkly, wrapping a protective arm around his professor. That man just gave Erik the creeps. _

"_Jealous or nervous?"Charles asked. Erik knew he was quirking an adorable eyebrow at him._

"_No, not at all," he said stiffly knowing Charles would not be fooled._

"_Liar," Charles responded fondly and yawned. "Sleep, yes?"_

"_Oh, I don't know…" Erik said being vague before pulling Charles into a bone searing kiss. _

_Sleep was naturally an afterthought._

Erik frowned at the architecture of the place and knew that he can do better than this. He felt that the building had no soul and as irrational as that sounded in his head, Erik knew that he was somewhat right. But Erik merely shrugged and tried to ignore the architecture. He did not have to work here after all.

After several wrong turns, wrong offices and almost walking into an office tryst, Erik finally found Charles' department. He muttered to himself and scanned the directory looking for his rumpled professor. And after finally finding Charles' office, Erik knocked on the door before opening and peering around the door cautiously.

Erik felt like his entire world turned upside down every time he saw Charles. So, it was no surprise that the world tilted when he saw Charles looking back at him with those sparkling blue eyes full of love, mischief and of course, lust. Erik had never seen someone so full of trust before and it made him so very protective whenever he wasn't around Charles. It had been six months since Erik (literally) fell into Charles' arms saving him from a very bad date and another restless night with only his thoughts to occupy him.

They hadn't spent one night alone since then. Raven was naturally thrilled and constantly asked when the wedding would be while Emma, in her typical Emma way smiled knowingly. She and Raven had been subjected to many loud nights and had taken to wearing ear plugs to bed.

Luckily, Ada was a very heavy sleeper. And while his mother fussed at Erik, she was very much relieved. An extraordinary change came over Erik when Charles came back into Erik's life and she wouldn't have changed it for the world. Erik smiled more and hadn't brooded since that fateful night. The kindess in him began to shine through and people couldn't help but be attracted to his innate charisma.

Ada still, however, couldn't help but gently needle Erik about grandchildren, to which Erik merely sighed and kissed his mother.

Of course, other people noticed the change in Charles and Erik as well. Charles was naturally an optimistic type of man. He saw the best in everyone and when presented with the bad, Charles would take the time to rationalize the bad side of said person. So, his natural buoyant tendency only increased after Erik crashed into him. His personality was like a sun drawing everyone and everything to him. He quickly became one of the most popular professors on campus. Raven gently teased her brother about his dressing habits – some things just died _hard_ – she was on cloud nine seeing how happy he was with Erik.

Another quality that increased was Charles' unknowing capacity to flirt often and openly; he may not have noticed it, but Erik certainly did.

"_Charles," Erik began one day. They were sitting in a coffee shop near Erik's satellite office. Charles was grading papers while Erik pulled out schematics to look over._

"_Yes, Love?" Charles looked up absently. He ran his hand through his dark locks, making them stick up in unusual ways; he stuck his red pen in his mouth and focused his attention on Erik. Several patrons looked over and suddenly felt themselves become quite smitten with the professor._

_Erik threw steely eyed glances at said patrons and returned his gaze back to his lover. "You flirt too much," he blurted out. Erik was never one for flowing statements._

_Charles blinked and then wrinkled his forehead. "I…uh…what?" His mind was clearly still on the papers he was grading._

"_.," Erik said again grinding the sentence out. This gained him a raised eyebrow in response. _

"_Really, now," Charles said only to be stopped by Erik._

"_When we ordered our coffees, did you not comment on the color of the barista's eyes?"_

"_Yes, well. It's a lovely mutation –"_

"_When we picked up our dinner last night, did you comment not the waiter's clothing?"_

"_I don't kn-"_

"_Last week when Armando – honestly, I don't know how he manages it – drove us back to your place, did you not tell him that he looked 'smashing?'"_

"_Erm….well…," Charles was beginning to turn a deep shade of red. _

"_Professor," Erik grinned – a little strained, to be sure – "You are an uncontrollable flirt."_

_Charles colored even more here and Erik caught his breath. The red in Charles' cheeks only made his blue eyes stand out more. Erik felt the room sway around him. While Charles did not remember flirting with people, he had been slightly aware of the tenseness of Erik's shoulders after said public outings. _

"_I'm sorry," came Charles' quiet reply, resolving to not be so flirtatious. _

"_Oh, Love," Erik sighed. "I'm sorry I'm so…jealous. You shouldn't have to change because I feel insecure," Erik made a face here. He did not like feeling vulnerable. Instead, Erik pulled him into a loving hug. "I'm sorry," he said again, lips murmuring into Charles' hair._

"_I will try not to flirt so much if you try not to be so jealous," Charles said fighting a grin._

"_Deal."_

Taking a deep breath, Erik stepped into Charles' office and closed the door behind him. "Umm, hello," Erik said. His hands were behind his back as he shifted his weight from leg to leg.

Charles grinned broadly and quirked an eyebrow at the nervous man standing in front of him. His heart sped up every time they were in the same room together and Charles could not fight the grin from leaping to his face. No one could deny the obvious love that Charles was in. "What can I do for you, Love?" He briefly wondered why Erik just didn't call him on his cell phone.

"I...um...well...I know this is completely backwards, since, technically we've been together (here Erik grinned broadly) for about six months, but would you like to go on a date with me? Emma and Mother seem to think that we haven't been on a date yet and they keep hounding me. And you know how they get when there's a bee in their bonnets," Erik fidgeted with his tie, his shirt, his hair. He was looking everywhere but Charles' brilliant blue eyes. So, he was caught off guard when he finally looked up and found that Charles was standing directly in front of him.

"I would love to," Charles murmured before softly kissing him.

* * *

><p>Erik was all nerves. He threw open his closet and had practically pulled out his entire wardrobe and flung it all over his room. His hair was sticking up in odd places and he was wearing only his underwear and his right sock. Emma came into his room and leaned her voluptuous frame against the door taking in the disaster area and Erik's frazzled nerves.<p>

She chuckled. "Need help?" She asked coyly.

Erik glanced up and darkly looked at her. "That would be helpful, yes. What should I wear?"

"I think it's cute that you're trying to impress the man that you've been with for six months, even if I don't get it in the slightest," Emma said as she came over picking through his clothes. Erik glared at her again while Emma just smiled serenely. "Where are you going?"

"The dinner and then to the opera," Erik responded absently, in his hands was a black turtleneck and black pants.

_Oh, they won't make it to the opera. _She bit back a grin. "Oh, please, not black _again,_" Emma said out loud and ripped the offending clothes out of his hands and onto his already messy floor.

"What? I like black!" Erik panicked again and went to pick up the garments.

"She's right, boy-chik. You wear black too much! You need something colorful and lively!" Ada stepped into the room and surveyed the mess. She merely clucked and sat – gingerly – in a chair at the corner of room. Ada had mellowed considerably since seeing Erik with Charles. She now knew that Erik was genuinely happy and knew that Charles Xavier would take care of her son. She smiled at her flustered son and threw a cautious eye at her daughter and the wheels began to turn (quietly) in her head.

As if on cue, Emma turned to her mother and said, "No, don't you start thinking about me." Emma tried to throw all her influence at the woman. Ada merely smiled again. "I don't trust that look," was all Emma said and threw herself into helping Erik dress for his first official date with Charles.

* * *

><p>Charles was on edge as well. His room was similarly decorated with clothes – mostly in tweed suits. Raven stood in the doorway amused until a pair of pants hit her squarely in the face. "Hey!" Raven squawked at her brother.<p>

"I'm sorry, Love," Charles said and plucked the pants off her head giving her a quick kiss. "Oh, why can't I find anything to wear?"

"Ummm, because most of your clothing consists of suits, sweater vests and ties?" Raven said, oh too innocently. She batted her eyelashes for extra effect. Charles threw her a none-too-amused look. "Oh, come on! It was funny. Besides, you and Sharkie have been together for six months! You don't _need_ to impress him!" Raven said throwing her hands up in the air and sat down on his bed. She dumped an armload of tweed suits onto the floor.

"Sharkie?" Charles asked as he took the suits off the floor and piled them onto an ottoman.

Raven blushed. "Yeah, Sharkie. It's what Emma calls him," Raven said mumbling. Charles just looked at her a little bewildered. While he liked Emma, he was not sure if he liked the influence she had with Raven. Emma just seemed downright devious sometimes.

"You haven't called him that to his face, have you?" Charles already knew the answer, of course. He gave her _the look._

Raven cowered a little under Charles' look but still managed to mutter out "Er…maybe…" Raven knew that Charles knew but still was hesitant to tell him.

Charles sighed. "Well, at least you're still standing." Charles grinned erasing _the look_ and earning a grin back from Raven.

"Come on," she said and pulled her brother out the bedroom door.

"Where are we going?" Charles asked as he tripped down the stairs after his sister.

"We're going shopping."

* * *

><p>After two and half hours of walking into and out of various stores, Raven finally convinced Charles to buy an orange sweater paired with a simple black button down shirt and dark blue jeans. The reaction from the sales associates was the deciding factor. Every single person on staff suddenly had this look of complete and utter <em>want<em> in their eyes as Charles stepped out of the dressing room. Charles turned a bright shade of red as if he knew what was going through the minds of everyone in the store. He quickly muttered something and walked right back into the dressing room to change.

Raven had to admit, the color of the sweater accentuated Charles' too pale skin and his bright blue eyes. She grinned to herself. Sometimes, Charles was just too perfect…not that she would ever tell her brother that though.

A girl's gotta have _some_ secrets.

* * *

><p>Charles wanted to hide. Erik was meeting him at the restaurant, though currently, Charles was thinking better of the arrangement. He was shrugging off his black coat when he heard the familiar laugh of his department head.<p>

"Xavier! Fancy meeting you here! What brings you to this restaurant?" Shaw, the head of the Genetics Department cried out. Charles could see already that he was three sheets to the wind. He winced and hoped that it wasn't a sign of things to come.

Internally, Charles groaned. He was already nervous – though he didn't know why – about meeting Erik for their first date. They _had_ been together for six months and spent nearly every waking moment together. If people hadn't figured out that they were an item they never would.

The more Charles thought about Erik's paranoia about Shaw the more he hated to admit that there _was_ something off about Sebastian Shaw. And the more Charles thought about it, the more he wanted to drive a nail through Shaw's head.

Charles smiled benignly at the man. "I'm just here meeting someone here."

"Oh? Excellent! You'll have to introduce me to her when she arrives!" Shaw said slapping Charles on the back and comes two steps too close to Charles' personal space. Charles bit down repulsion. This man was the _head of his department._ Charles simply could not insult the man, though he thought many unkind things about the man. _He truly is oblivious to everything, isn't he?_

Then suddenly, Charles caught sight of Erik and almost melted into a puddle right then and there, Shaw be damned. _Holy fuck, looks delicious._ Erik was dressed in a simple light blue button down shirt paired with simple grey slacks. The neck of his shirt was unbuttoned and suddenly Charles wanted to nip gently at his neck. He pressed his smile and blush down. "Ah, there's my friend," he said and waved to Erik. "Excuse me," Charles said politely leaving Shaw in his wake.

Erik did not miss Shaw talking to Charles when he came in. His forehead wrinkled and then smoothed when he pushed the uncharitable thoughts out of his head. "Hello, Liebe," Erik said kissing Charles forehead gently. "What is that momzer doing here?"

Charles merely rolled his eyes. "Apparently, dining, like we are."

Erik grinned. "Of course," he said and waved him towards the hostess stand. "After you," Erik said with just a hint of mischief in his eyes. Charles rolled his eyes again and bit his tongue.

The dinner itself was a heady meal full of meaningful glances, sweet whispered nothings, blushes and a spirited game of footsies – initiated by Erik, of course. Erik was pretty sure the couple next to them was going to have a heart attack…or attack them with knives. Erik was sure that it had nothing to do with the game of footsies that may or may not have included a none-too-subtle almost under the table hand job from Charles.

Once the older man gave both Erik and Charles a seething glare things returned to a relative normalcy.

Which, of course, only made Charles and Erik giggle like teenagers, their faces turning a deep red color.

It was only after the meal was done where things took an awkward turn. It all started with Erik when he spotted his ex-girlfriend, Magda while waiting in the lobby of the restaurant. "Oh, shit," Erik said and quickly ducked behind a tall pillar. He had no idea why he was hiding from Magda, after all she was the one who broke his heart and left him – not the other way around. He doubted that she cared what he did. But duck behind the pillar he did.

"Erik?" Charles asked confused, he went to get their coats and when he came back, Erik had simply disappeared. Charles could have sworn that he was just right there.

"Charles," Erik staged whispered from behind the pillar and peeked out.

Charles did a double take. "Erik? What are you doing behind there?" He put his coat on and held out Erik's for him to take.

"Ummmm, I'm not quite sure actually," Erik leaned his head up against the pillar trying to calm his nerves.

"Could you just come out from behind the pillar and tell me what's going on?" Charles said getting a little grumpy. Erik instead pulled Charles behind the pillar and leaned against him. Charles instantly put his arms around his Erik and tried to soothe him. "What's wrong?" Charles asked gently, it was not like Erik to be so shy.

"Have I told you about my ex-girlfriend?" Erik said closing his eyes and inhaling Charles' cologne.

"No," Charles said and squeezed him gently. "Tell me."

Erik sighed. "I suppose technically, people would say that I am a bisexual – "

"That's okay, I suppose people would say the same about me," Charles said interrupting him.

Erik bit a grin and continued. "Did I tell you about the time I was engaged to be married and how the woman I was going to marry left me at the altar?"

Charles blinked. "No, but I don't particularly care, really. That was in the past," here Charles paused slightly blushing. "I'm your future." That earned him a grin and crushing kiss from Erik.

After parting for air, Erik continued. "Well, she's here in the restaurant," Erik peeked around the corner and spotted her again talking to someone. Not just anyone, but Shaw. Erik groaned again. "It looks like she's talking to Shaw."

"Oh, really?" Charles then looked around the corner. "Magda is your ex-girlfriend?" Charles nearly fainted from shock.

"What, what?" Erik held Charles upright.

"That damn woman is the terror of the entire department," Charles muttered darkly. "She's always yelling at the students, faculty and staff members. She's nearly unstoppable. You think Shaw is bad? Magda seems to be worse," Charles peeked around the pillar again, "Lord help us, they've joined forces. Damn them."

"We should leave," Erik muttered feeling Charles tense at his side. Again, Erik's protectiveness kicked itself into high gear. He remembered Magda clearly while quite lovely, Magda had a mean and vindictive reputation. Magda was such bad news that she had made such the impression Ada.

"_Erik! You cannot possibly marry that woman!" Ada Lehnsherr cried in dismay when Erik told her the news. _

"_What? I thought you were forever after me to get married!" Erik ran a hand through his hair. This was not how he thought it would go._

"_But not to that….that woman!" Ada said and shut herself in the bathroom, refusing to come out. She did not explain to Erik the rumours that she had heard about Magda – she was not one to spread rumours, after all. _

_So, when Ada saw that she wasn't showing up for the wedding, she was ever so relieved. Ada only wished that it had come sooner rather than at the altar. It took all of her weight and sheer force of will to smooth over the entire mess._

"I agree, but the only way out is being blocked," Charles muttered. Erik sighed and rubbed his forehead. "We shouldn't have to hide," Charles said and straightened up. Erik took notice of Charles' bearing. Secretly, he loved when Charles got into his stern professor mode. It was secretly (or not) a turn on for him. Erik smirked and tucked that little nugget into his head for later. Charles was not usually aggressive nor was he submissive, but seeing the younger man suddenly take charge…well, it put certain ideas into Erik's head.

"Who said anything about hiding? It seems you want to pummel Magda and I want to twist Shaw's head off. You tackle Magda and I'll handle Shaw," Erik said grinning feeding off Charles' sudden bravado.

"You are not helping," Charles said and noticed the twinkling of the other man's eyes. "Stop that, you're making me losing my concentration. " Erik merely made an innocent 'who me?' gesture. "I know you think it's a turn on, but let's concentrate on the task at hand, yes?" Erik grinned. "Now, let us step out from behind the pillar. I'll help you get your coat on and we can be on our way to the opera." Erik only nodded. He was feeling very lightheaded and horny. They stepped out from behind the pillar and as Charles was helping Erik into his coat, he saw Magda's dark head turn swiftly in their direction. Erik groaned on the inside. No matter what their plan was, she was not going to let him get away so easily.

"Erik?" Magda asked a little too innocently and batted her eyelashes. She was dressed to the nines and knew it.

"Magda," Erik said flatly and rolled his eyes.

"Fancy meeting you here!" Magda said beginning to pour on the charm. Then she spotted Charles standing by his side. "Xavier? What brings you here?" Magda said suddenly narrowing her eyes.

"Dinner, my dear Magda," Charles said smoothly and began tugging on Erik's arm. "If you'll excuse us, we're both going to be late for the opera."

"Oh, the opera! We'll be attending too! Wouldn't it be lovely if we all went together?" Magda said and clapped her hands in mock joy. Erik rolled his eyes again wanting to throw darts at his ex. "Erik!" Magda squealed again, "It's been too long! How have you been?" She gushed and went to hug Erik.

"I'm fine, Magda," Erik said and neatly sidestepped the woman. Magda blinked.

"Really, Xavier, I didn't know you knew Erik Lehnsherr," Shaw finally said bringing the attention back to him. He truly hated not being the focus of attention.

Charles merely raised an eyebrow but did not explain. "My apologies Shaw," Charles began, "but we really must be going. We have to stop at my house to get the tickets."

"Oh, of course," Shaw said clearly not believing the lie. "Have fun," he added and stepped aside for Erik and Charles to get through. Erik merely nodded at them both, barely restraining himself from murdering both Shaw _and_ Magda. Preferably with rusty spoons.

Charles sighed and leaned against Erik as they hit the night air. "Most awkward, indeed," Charles said. "Do you still want to go to the opera? It seems that we should just call it a night and head home."

"No," Erik said gritting his teeth. "We're not letting those two ruin our perfectly good evening." Charles smiled and tucked his arm into Erik's.

"Lovely, I was hoping you'd say that."

Of course, at the opera, not only did they run into Shaw and Magda _again_, but they ran into Cain Marko. "Charlie!" Cain cried out when he spotted Charles. "Long time no see!" All three hundred (muscular) pounds had enveloped Charles into a tight hug, nearly squeezing the air out of his lungs.

_I really fucking hate that nickname, _Charles thought_. _He sighed and tried to pat the man around the shoulders. He only reached somewhere in the middle of the massive man's back. "How are you Cain?"

"Never better! I'm just here with the missus. She's forever trying to stuff culture into this thick skull of mine!" Cain laughed heartily, knowing there was no way the culture would stick in his head.

Charles only smiled weakly and sucked it up, knowing that he had to make introductions. "Cain, this is Erik, my boyfriend. Erik, this is my cousin, Cain," Charles said and tried to brace himself for the impact.

Which never came.

"Boyfriend? Well, that's new," Cain said still smiling – genuinely. Charles looked at his massive cousin a little warily. "What? Sometimes things _do_ stick, Charlie," Cain said grinning. He turned to Erik who was not often intimidated but backed up nonetheless, "Remind me to tell you about this incident when were kids. It's a riot." Cain winked. Erik got the distinct impression that Cain thought _everything_ was a riot. "See ya, Charlie! Nice to meet ya, Erik!"

Charles released an audible sigh. "Oh, my god," he muttered and rubbed his arms. That truly was the best reaction he could've hoped for.

"That's your cousin?" Erik said unbelieving. "He's massive!"

"Step-cousin, actually," Charles muttered. He pushed on his eyes willing the oncoming headache away. "He was a terror when we were teenagers," here Charles sighed. "I suppose, I should tell you about the fire I accidentally caused and how his father saved us both from dying." Erik had the good sense to keep his mouth shut. "Come on," Charles said gently pulling Erik inside. "I'll tell you about it later. Like Cain said, _it's a riot._"

Their seats were situated in a row that was several rows below Cain's seats (because, naturally, the man needed two seats to sit comfortably) and several rows above Shaw and Magda's seats. Charles and Erik turned to each other and sighed. Well, it was better than having both couples closer to them.

"I really should have taken you up on the offer to just go home," Erik whispered to Charles. Charles just smiled and affectionately patted his lover's knee, concentrating on being out and about with the love of his life. The performance itself went well – if a little boring on Erik's part – but it was helped along greatly when Charles held his hand, rubbing his thumb along his sending little sparks of electricity up Erik's spine. After that, Erik didn't give a damn if the singers on stage sang in their birthday suits. Erik was there with Charles who was holding his hand. Erik grinned despite himself. He badly wanted to start playing footsies again with Charles but managed to refrain himself.

Charles' thoughts were truly not on the opera either. However, it was just _nice_ to be out with Erik and do what other couples do on a weekend night. He did, though, just want to skip to the good part where both men ended up naked, wrapped around each other in bed, spent and happy, talking quietly. Charles bit his cheek to keep himself from grinning. It did nothing to keep the blush off his face. Charles decided that it was a good thing that it was so dark in the theatre.

After the performance was over, Charles went to the restroom, leaving Erik to his own devices. He leaned up against the wall waiting for Charles to come out when he heard the familiar laugh of Magda. _Oh, shit._

"Erik!" Magda said delightedly. Shaw was nowhere in sight.

"Magda," Erik said sternly. He stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep from socking his ex-fiancée.

"Erik, you're still not mad at me for what I did so long ago, are you?" Magda said, obviously delighting in Erik's discomfort.

"Of course not," Erik said forcing himself to uncurl his hunched shoulders. His jaw was still set and there was no humor in his suddenly stormy blue eyes.

"Oh, Erik, I'm so sorry that I hurt you so! Let me make it up to you!" Magda said suddenly pressing herself up against his stiff frame and slipping her hands into Erik's suit coat.

"Magda, please get your hands off me," Erik said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, what's the matter, Erik? Don't you find me attractive anymore?" Magda was now obviously grinding herself against him. Erik could smell the strong alcoholic drinks on her breath.

"Have you been drinking?" Erik said feeling every muscle in his body tense.

"What? Me, drink? How absurd!" Magda said with mock hurt. She began her rubbing of Erik's torso once again.

Erik wanted to gag.

"Magda, I believe my boyfriend requested that you unhand him," Charles said frostily. He was suddenly at Erik's side and threw the drunken woman daggers. He was just as furious (perhaps even more so) as Erik was. Magda could only blink in surprise at Charles. She was used to intimidating others, not the other way around. Her fuzzy brain just could not comprehend the way the usually rumpled professor was speaking to her. After a few beats, Charles took Magda's hands off Erik and set them by her side and escorted Erik away from his ex-fiancée. Magda could only stand there gaping at Charles and Erik. Charles did not see Shaw come around the corner to find his drunken girlfriend staring at the space where Charles and Erik had just vacated.

Nor did he see the swing that was coming his way from Shaw.

However, Erik did and easily blocked Shaw's punch aimed at Charles' head. Shaw, also very drunk, could only stare at Erik while Erik easily threw him to against the wall.

"You will not touch Charles again," Erik said softly. To be sure, Erik's voice was not at all very comforting or soothing – it was, by all means, very menacing and dangerous. Shaw, being drunk however, did not register this and began to throw another punch in Erik's direction – again easily blocked by Erik. Shaw blinked again, not entirely sure what was going on. "People like you and Magda, all you care about is using people to your own needs…like weapons. I don't like you. And for some moronic reason you've risen to the top. Sad. So, listen carefully. If you touch Charles again I will be very, very unhappy. Do I make myself clear?" Shaw can only nod. Erik's sheer presence is enough to hold Shaw stock still – even without Erik's grip on his coat. Erik released him and glared at Magda who was leaning up against the wall. "That goes for you too, dear Magda." He glanced over at Charles who was wearing a neutral expression on his face. Charles nodded once and Erik answered back with his own nod and off they went.

Shaw slumped against the wall, putting his head in his hands. "I'm gonna crush that little motherfucker," he muttered. And suddenly, he is once again picked up and casually thrown against the wall. Cain is standing there in front of him, bored.

"No. No, you won't. You heard the man. Touch him and you'll know what I can do," he said. Cain glanced at Magda and raised and thick eyebrow. She cowered into a corner, trying to make herself very, very small. _Huh, Charlie's done well for himself. Good for him. _Cain and his wife walked away from the two drunks. "That, my dear, was well worth the price of admission," he said cheekily.

Cain's wife only sighed and slapped him lightly on the arm.

* * *

><p>Charles was very silent and only stared straight ahead on the cab ride home to his house. Erik worried his bottom lip wondering if he did the right thing – Shaw <em>was<em> Charles' immediate superior. What if his threats weren't enough to keep Shaw away from his beloved? Charles finally sighed and slumped into Erik's side.

"Well, that was awkward," was all he said, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Yes. Yes, it was," Erik responded cautiously. Charles looked up at Erik and quirked an eyebrow in a question. He wasn't sure how to broach the subject delicately, so Erik did the next best thing. He blurted out what was on his mind. "Don't hate me," Erik said quietly.

"Hate you? Why on earth would I hate you?" Charles said astonished.

"Because I roughed up the head of your department!" Erik practically wailed. A well aimed, if unnoticed eyebrow went up from the driver in the front seat. _Oh, man. What did he do, _thought Armando.

"Then I shall deal with it come Monday, Liebe," Charles said quietly. "Honestly, Shaw has a lot of black marks against him. And while I am only an adjunct currently, adding my compliant with everyone else's is bound to get attention," here Charles paused. "Magda….well, Magda will have to be dealt with a light hand." Charles lips quirked a smile at a thought, "I had no idea that bitch was your ex-girlfriend. Obviously, your taste in partners has developed."

Erik finally laughed and put an arm around Charles. He sighed again and pulled him closer. "Let's not do that again," he said and nuzzled Charles' hair.

"What? Go on a date or run into the most awkward situations ever?"

"Yes."

Charles just laughed.

* * *

><p>Emma picked up her phone and dialed Raven's number. Raven picked it up close to the first ring.<p>

"Well?" Raven said breathlessly.

"I think it might be the most awkward date ever," Emma said and grinned mischievously. She was sitting in the bay window of her house, twirling her blond locks. Emma paid no attention when a bicyclist accidentally crashed into a parked car. The man was stunned but otherwise okay.

Raven giggled. "Yeah, it will, won't it? But it'll be fun to hear the stories tomorrow," she said.

"Oh, my yes," Emma said and grinned.

* * *

><p>"Thank you, Armando," Charles said and tipped the cab driver generously. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were deliberately hanging about my house just so you can get all the choice tips," he said smiling.<p>

Armando only grinned politely and took Charles' money.

"Well, Liebe, shall we end our almost disastrous first date?" Charles asked, very innocently, all wide eyes.

Erik was not fooled. "And how shall we end our first date?" Erik leaned in and placed a kiss behind Charles' ear. Charles shivered.

"Well, I have a _few_ ideas," he said and winked.

"Oh, do tell," Erik said and dragged Charles up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Emma and Raven were still gossiping on the phone when Erik and Charles stumbled in through the front door. Raven giggled. "Oh, they're home," she said and cracked up.<p>

Charles and Erik paid Raven no mind as the professor pulled Erik up the stairs.

After all was said and done, it was a very successful first date indeed.

* * *

><p><em>My apologies. I just wasn't satisfied with this chapter. And no matter how I reworked it and reworked it, it wouldn't straighten itself out. <em>

_Reviews are delicious. Gentle criticisms are a gourmand's dream._


	7. Wedding

Wedding

_And now, we come to the last chapter. Thank you for reading. This story was fun to write. I do believe Charles and Erik were demanding it somehow, somewhere and I am a sucker for big blue eyes. _

_One more thing, I'm awfully bashful about writing explicit sex scenes between any two people. It's my own introverted and shy nature and nothing else. So…if something doesn't ring true, then my apologies. It's completely and utterly. _

_Anyway, unbeta'ed, as par for the course (though I will most likely take up Hams offer to beta read more of stuff) and oh, I own nothing._

* * *

><p>A year had passed since Erik's disastrous date and he was itching to ask Charles to marry him. And while they had gone on numerous dates since the first one, they had agreed not to call their dates – dates – but outings. It made Charles grin at the old-fashioned word and kissed Erik silly whenever he suggested said outings.<p>

Since their first outing, they ran into Cain and his wife again at the opera (and despite Cain's protests, perhaps culture really was sinking into his head); the very sweet couple of Kitty and Piotr Rasputin at the movies; Hank and Raven at the circus (much to Raven's chagrin – Charles took an immense pleasure in screeching his sister's name and waving like a mad man) and Emma and her latest conquest – which strangely enough was the same man Erik went on the date with before stumbling into Charles' arms. Erik looked at Emma amused while the man, Jamie, did not remember Erik at all.

_Small miracles indeed, _Erik mused and Emma, cool as a cucumber only smiled at her brother and Charles.

The proposal like most things in their relationship was just as sweet and awkward. Erik thought about where to propose to Charles. Should it be the coffee shop where they frequented? Should it be in the subway station where they saw but could not get to each other? Should it be at the restaurant, sight of their first date? Erik wracked his brain for weeks, trying to find a suitable place.

He wanted romance.

He wanted it to be memorable.

He wanted it to be spectacular.

He got all three.

Eventually.

There was the first time Erik tried to propose to Charles – at the ice skating rink at Rockerfeller Center. Charles loved ice skating and in fact, was pretty decent at it, despite being a bit rusty. He managed to skate circles around others, skate backwards and if he had a mind to do it, leap into the air. Erik, on the other hand, had never skated once in his life. Needless to say, this lack of knowledge wasn't going to stand in Erik Lehnsherr's way.

Of course, this ended up with the two of them in ER with Erik's ankle in a brace and a very angry and disgruntled architect.

"So, why didn't you tell me that you couldn't skate?" Charles asked with wry amusement in his voice. It was during times like this that Charles' Oxford accent became pronounced, which in turn infuriated and turned Erik on. Charles stood next to him with his arms crossed while the offending ankle was being examined. Charles had seen the accident and before he could get to Erik and prevent him from smacking face first into the wall, it was too late. As Erik was sliding down the wall, Erik tripped over his feet and badly twisted his ankle.

"You love skating," came Erik's growled response. In his pocket was the perfect ring Erik had picked out for Charles himself – with Emma and Raven's help, of course. Charles laughed and pulled him in for a kiss only being interrupted by a pink Hank McCoy who grinned at the two men.

"Charles. Erik," Hank said and began to examine his patient. "Should I even ask?" he said smirking, not bothering to look at Erik who was shooting daggers at Hank with his eyes.

"You know full well that Raven will tell you all the details," Erik said through clenched teeth. Hank only smiled.

Erik was angry and upset until he realized that Charles was bent on taking care of him, making sure that everything Erik needed was ready and at his disposal.

There were worse things that having to stay in bed for the next two weeks, being tended by a very handsome and concerned man.

Erik's second attempt at proposing marriage ended up being just as futile as his first attempt. He had decided on New Year's Eve to propose to his professor. Erik had convinced his friend, Warren Worthington III to let them see the fireworks from the top of his building, Worthington Enterprises in the middle of the city. He had not, however, counted on the fact that Warren would then invite all his friends and clients to witness the coming of the New Year.

Erik sighed as he saw the party on the roof of Warren's building. But he smiled gamely and led Charles inside introducing him to Warren.

"Erik!" Warren said, already wobbling a bit on his feet. "I'm so glad you suggested that we have this party! It beats any other party going on right now!" Warren had a drink in his hand and was sloshing it around with each gesture. His eyes fell on Charles. "Hello," Warren said trying not to be so sloppy.

"Hello," Charles said biting his laughter. "I'm Charles Xavier, Erik's boyfriend," he held out his hand to shake Warren's.

"Charles Xavier? The genetics whiz? I read your thesis and I'm fascinated by your theory," and he pulled Charles off to the side to talk shop with the amused and a bit bewildered professor.

Erik just sighed and grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. It was going to be a long night and it looked like he wouldn't be proposing to Charles tonight either. As the night passed, Erik saw neither hide nor hair of Charles and Erik began to worry a little bit as he went off in search of the professor.

When he found Charles, Erik did not know what exactly to expect. However, to find him in the midst of several lovely ladies drunkenly giving them advice was not one of the possibilities. He quietly (and amusedly) watched his lover hold court on the floor of one of Warren's more comfortable conference rooms. The room was decked in expensive paintings, leather sofas and had an excellent view of the city below them.

"My dear," Charles said drunkenly to a stunningly beautiful Asian woman, "you deserve better than what he's giving you. You deserve to be treated like a princess," Charles was slurring his words and Erik only raised an eyebrow up in amusement. Erik knew that the beautiful Asian woman happened to be Betsy Braddock, an old flame of Warren's. And from the look on Betsy's face, she was avidly taking his advice down in her head. "You shouldn't have to beg for his attention. Look at you! You're stunning and beautiful and intelligent and beautiful and warm and kind and beautiful…" Charles trailed off. "Yes, you really don't need your current boyfriend. This is a new year coming up, yes? Start it off right by dumping him!

"And you, my dear!" Charles said turning his attention to a leggy red-head with an extremely low cut dress, "you can't be jealous of every man your boyfriend looks at! We're only human. It's not like you can see into his mind or anything," Charles paused here. Erik was a bit unnerved by this last bit; he was most certain that at times Charles was a mind reader, but he did not say anything to interrupt him. "He loves you, yes? Then stop worrying about him cheating on you." The red head nodded, her eyes watering. "Take my boyfriend for instance," here Erik perked up considerably. "He's absolutely adorable, kind, loving and sexy." Erik reddened here, loving to hear the words come out of Charles mouth. "He gets jealous from time to time. It's natural; a little annoying, but still natural in our relationship. I suspect that he's had some not so nice relationships in the past." Erik chuckled. "But I still love him very much and I wouldn't change him for the world."

Erik did not think he could be any more embarrassed, but it turned out that he was wrong; the women surrounding his beloved professor sighed dreamily, obviously jealous of Erik and his relationship to the wonderfully brilliant man sitting in their company.

"Oh! There he is!" Charles exclaimed and drunkenly got to his feet. "Come here, Love," Charles said and started wobbling towards him. Before he got to Erik, Charles tripped on his feet and fell towards Erik who easily caught him. Erik heard the jealous sighs of the women and smiled.

"I've been looking for you," Erik said smirking, catching the looks of envy on their faces.

"Have you? How lovely," Charles said nuzzling Erik's neck. "I've missed you."

Erik chuckled. "How much have you had to drink?"

Charles raised an eyebrow. "Betsy, Jean, how much have I had to drink? I've lost count."

"I have no idea, Charles dear," Jean said lazily while eyeing Erik appreciatively.

"I think we should leave," Erik said. "You seem to be drunk off your ass."

Charles blinked before he started giggling. "You said ass." Erik sighed. "You need more to drink," Charles said and waved over a waiter with a tray of drinks. "Please give this lovely man something potent to drink."

"Charles, I do not need anything to drink," Erik said protesting and waved the waiter away.

"Oh, but you do," Charles replied and dragged him back to where his court of ladies-in-waiting were sitting. And that was how Erik and Charles spent New Year's Eve, drunk, surrounded by drunken women and giving out advice. Warren found them the next day in the same position surrounded by sleeping women. He desperately wished he had his camera. It was not every day that the intimidating, handsome, terrifying Erik Lehnsherr was snoring peacefully with his head on Charles Xavier's shoulder while various guests had their heads pillowed on their laps. It was quite cute really.

Warren leaned against the door frame wondering how to wake them when Betsey woke and looked at Warren blearily. "Oh," was all she said and made a movement to wake the others. By the time Erik and Charles got back to Charles' house all thoughts of proposing were obviously out of Erik's head.

"Happy new year, Love," Charles said and fell asleep lightly drooling on Erik's chest.

"Happy new year to you too, Liebe," Erik responded and followed him quickly into the arms of sleep.

Erik's final attempt at proposing marriage came when they decided to take a few weeks off to vacation in Charles' weekend house in Westchester…which wasn't really a _house_ as it was more of a _mansion….a very large mansion. _Erik could only stare at the large sprawling mansion complete with a large paneled front door with a decorated crown over said front door, massive flattened columns, chimneys a plenty and old beautiful brick. Charles noticed the flabbergasted expression on Erik's face and turned red misinterpreting Erik's speechlessness.

"It's a bit much, isn't it?" Charles said, his hands fluttering in front of him. "If you want, we can stay at that bed and breakfast we passed on the way in," he offered. It was actually very rare when Charles thought about the massive amount of _wealth_ that his family had. He felt distinctly uncomfortable with it from time to time and made generous contributions to various charities throughout the year.

"It's…uh…large….this is your's?" Erik said finally finding his voice, his eyes taking in every little detail.

"Mine and Raven's technically," Charles said. "Though I do let various relatives stay here from time to time when need be," Charles said examining his shoes.

"Who lives here most of the year?" Erik asked, still entranced by the sheer size of the building.

"Oh, well, no one lives here most of the year actually," Charles said. Now, he was seriously contemplating donating the entire building to a local college or better yet a women's and children's shelter and began cataloguing what needed to be done before donating the building.

"How many generations have lived here?" Erik could not take his eyes off the mansion.

"Um…er…ten generations," Charles finally said. Erik looked at his beloved who had his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"What?" Erik said finally noticing the discomfort in Charles.

"Oh, I thought you might not like it," he finally said only after Erik tipped his chin up.

"Well, it's a bit overwhelming and I don't think I would want to live here full time. But it's a nice place," Erik said.

"But it feels so _wrong_ to have such a large empty house. I think I'll talk to Raven about donating the building or something," Charles said trailing off.

"Don't be ashamed," Erik said, "do what you want to do with your house. It is _your's_ after all," Erik said trying to ease Charles' discomfort.

Charles only nodded and they entered the large house, hand in hand with Erik.

They found a large bedroom – supposedly the master bedroom, Charles told him – and settled in for the night. Erik had managed to start a fire going in the large fireplace which lit the entire room nicely. They were seated in front of the fire on the floor with a checker board in front of them. Erik had also found a chessboard, but decided to put it away when Charles made a face at it.

"What's wrong with chess?" Erik asked as he tucked it back into the bookshelf and accepted the glass of whiskey from Charles.

"Cain tried to beat me up with a chessboard once," Charles said drily, taking a sip of his own drink and absently rubbing his head. "Gave me a good sized lump on the head too. The fucker almost paralyzed me as well."

Erik raised an eyebrow.

"He didn't _mean_ to naturally. Cain was just getting used to his own strength. He didn't know that there was a log near the lake shore when he threw me in," Charles continued a little darkly. "The dark water was covered the log and when I hit it, I hit it squarely on my back. I was laid up for the rest of that summer."

"No harm done, though," Erik said cautiously. He _definitely_ did not want to be on Cain Marko's bad side.

"No, you're right. No harm done," Charles said brightening. Erik knew that he should have lit the fireplace with Charles' smile alone. He felt warm, safe and loved just being in Charles' presence. _This,_ he thought, _is the perfect time to propose._

But naturally, as he was about to pull out the ring and get on one knee, the door burst open and in walked a man with a very large staff looking very upset.

"Hold it right there!" shouted the man with the staff. _I do believe that is a Bo staff,_ Charles thought absently as Erik grabbed his hand. Erik was ready to protect Charles with everything that he had. Charles, naturally, had the same line of thought.

Erik and Charles looked at each other and decided to be very, very still trying to decide when the right time to attack the man.

"What the fuck are you doing in the Xavier house?" Staff man demanded. He waved around the staff for extra effect.

"I own this house," Charles said quietly and stood up slowly, his gaze narrowed at the man. _What oddly colored eyes. _Erik panicked and wanted to throw himself in front of Charles.

"Prove it," said the Staff man and pointed the staff at Charles, causing Erik to bristle. He made a move towards the Staff man, growling.

"My ancestors have lived here in some capacity since the 1700's. My sister, Raven and I spent our summers here along with various cousins, especially Cain Marko. This house and the property surrounding it contains four floors, one basement, one sub-basement, three swimming pools, twenty bedrooms, six sitting rooms, four kitchens, a lake, two elevators, three grand staircases, a boat house, a dock, a basketball court and shooting range – to name a few. It was previously owned by Brian and Sharon Xavier, my parents, in the late 70's before they passed," Charles said squaring his shoulders and leveling the Staff man with a powerful glare. Erik, despite the dangerous interruption, could not help but feel very, very turned on. While Charles preferred to solve dilemmas with diplomacy, Charles could take care of himself in a fight. His advantage, naturally, was not looking like he could take care of himself. But Erik knew, that underneath the sweaters, button down oxford shirts was the very toned body of someone who seriously took care of himself.

Erik swallowed his lust and refocused on the intruder. Charles' gaze turned piercing at Staff man causing the other drop his weapon. "Remy?" Charles finally said after a long few minutes, his brow wrinkling in concentration.

"Charles?" Now, it was coming back to him.

"Remy!" Charles finally smiled and Erik relaxed. "I didn't think you were still here!"

"Someone's gotta keep an eye on the place," Remy said and smiled back, all charm. Now, it was Erik's gaze that turned steely and piercing.

Charles laughed and walked towards the other man. They hugged fiercely. "Remy, this is my boyfriend, Erik. Erik, this is an old family friend, Remy LeBeau," Charles said still smiling with his arm around Remy.

"Pleasure," Erik said not liking the way this Remy LeBeau character was eyeing his professor. The man actually had the audacity to lick his lips while sizing Charles up!

"I'm so sorry that I forgot to send word before we got here. I honestly thought that no one would be left around to open the place up for us!" Charles said, not noticing the sudden tension in the air coming from Erik.

"Ah, that's all right. I just wanted to make sure that the place hadn't been invaded by squatters," Remy said turning his full attention (and charm) to Charles.

"Has it been a big problem then?" Charles asked.

"No, not really, but one can never be too sure," Remy answered, the smile turned brilliant.

"Thanks, Remy," Charles said. "Are you still living in town?" He took a large gulp of his drink.

Remy shook his head. "I decided to take one of the gardener's houses on the outskirts of the property. It helps keep vagrants away, if you know what I mean." Remy did nothing to hide his appreciative looks of the professor standing in front of him. Erik was quite handsome as well, he decided, but Charles looked more available.

_Oh, I know what you mean,_ Erik thought wanting to rip Remy's head off. _Hands off. I saw that look you just gave Charles._

"Thank you," Charles said. "Well, I'm sorry that we kept you up, my friend. We'll have to catch up with each other soon though." The drink was making Charles more bright-eyed and flushed….and absolutely delicious.

Remy did not miss the flushed face and neck of the professor. "I'd like that," Remy said barely keeping the lascivious tones out of this voice. He finally turned to Erik. "It was nice meeting you," he said politely enjoying the look of murder on Erik's face.

"Nice meeting you too," Erik said stiffly, his hands were at his sides clenching and unclenching.

"Good night gents," Remy said and left.

"Good night, Remy," Charles replied. He sighed and turned to Erik. "Well, that was exciting wasn't it, Love?" Erik only grunted, trying to wipe the look off his face. He was trying desperately to salvage whatever evening they had. "What's wrong? You're not jealous, are you?" Charles said teasing a bit.

"Of course not," Erik said and turned away to refill his glass. He wanted to shot lasers out of his eyes at the man leaving the mansion.

Charles cocked his head to the side. "Of course not," he mimicked and sighed. "Was I flirting again?"

"No, but clearly this LeBeau wanted you," Erik said. He could feel his shoulders tensing up and berated himself for turning into such a jealous monster. He felt Charles' arms wrap around him as his body pressed up against him.

"You have no reason to be jealous, Love," Charles said quietly. "We've been through too much to let silly things like jealously get in our way." Charles felt Erik's shoulders unwind as Erik's head tipped forward.

"You're right," Erik said and turned himself around in Charles' arms. "Forgive me?"

"You're forgiven," Charles said, kissing him. "However, I just _might _need to be convinced more though," he said, eyes twinkling. He pressed his body flush against Erik's. Erik nearly shivered from the contact.

Erik raised his eyebrow and smirked. "Oh, I think I could convince you more." And proceeded to convince Charles of the fact that indeed he was sorry for his behavior. _The proposal,_ he thought, _could wait until tomorrow._

The next day Charles and Erik walkied to the lake, picnic basket in Erik's hand, ring in pocket and Charles' arm around Erik's waist. Erik couldn't help but grin. _This is absolutely perfect._ Charles noticed the grin on the other man's face and asked him about it.

"It's nice just being out here with you," Erik said simply and pressed a kiss into Charles forehead.

"Yes, yes it is," Charles agreed and pressed himself closer to his beloved. They reached the boathouse and saw the Remy was already there cleaning the boats. Charles waved t the other man while Erik tried very hard not to growl at Remy.

"Going boating?" Remy asked casually. A bit too casually, in Erik's opinion.

"What a lovely idea! I haven't been boating in a long time!" Charles exclaimed.

Erik smirked and was about to say something slightly snarky when Charles cut him off.

"I'm awfully waspy, aren't I?" Charles said grinning. Erik was shocked. It was like he read his mind. "No, no mind reading involved. You're just easy to read," Charles said grinning larger. "Don't scowl," he quickly added.

Erik scowled…lightly.

Charles grinned and kissed his cheek. "I said, don't scowl." Erik would have swooned if they weren't being watched.

A polite cough caught their attention. "Would you like me to pull out the sailboat? I just finished cleaning it out," Remy said with an amused glint in his eye.

"That would be lovely, yes," Charles said. "Would you like some help?"

"Naw, that's okay," Remy said and went about his work.

A half hour later Charles and Erik were sitting on the sailboat enjoying the sunshine, the lunch and each other's company. Erik watched lazily as Remy went about his work on the shore while Charles steered the sailboat deftly. Obviously, his time away from boating did not diminish his skills. Erik leaned against Charles' legs and idly watched the water sail passed them. He reached into his pocket and fingered the box the ring was nestled in. He was about pull it out and propose when he noticed his shoes were inches deep in water and gaining momentum.

"Charles?" Erik said keeping the rising panic out of his voice.

"Yes, Love?" Charles said lazily.

"There's water coming into the boat."

"What!" Charles stood up to see what Erik was talking about when the sudden movement of the boat rocked it to the side sending Charles over the side. Erik yelled and was promptly sent flying into the same water as the mast of the boat swung out and pushed him in. After that, the boat sunk swiftly, the water rushing in at an alarming rate. As they floated in the water, Erik and Charles could only look at each and began laughing hysterically. They swam back to shore with Charles helping Erik out of the water.

Remy only looked on in slight amusement and with the tiniest bit of jealousy, much to Erik's smugness.

"Well, we won't have to worry about that boat anymore," Charles said grinning.

After drying off and changing into warm and dry clothes, Erik thought that perhaps he should just pop the question before anything else happened to them during the weekend. While Charles thought nothing of the boat, Erik thought long and hard about Remy's reaction when the boat sunk. He didn't want to think bad thoughts about the man – _okay, so that's a lie_, Erik thought – but it all seemed a bit too convenient; how Remy had burst in when Erik was about to propose; how the boat just seemed to sink when it had just been recently cleaned and repaired. No, it all seemed a little too convenient. And it did not sit well with him.

So, for the next few days Erik had two goals: one, to carefully observe Remy LeBeau and two, find the perfect time and situation to propose to Charles. But after several quiet days Erik was forced to rethink his previous line of thought regarding Remy. He was just being jealous and overly cautious after all. Erik decided to shove the other man to the backburner and concentrated his full attention to the younger man with the brilliant blue eyes.

"You've been gone, Love," Charles said to him the next day. They were lounging on top of a hill under a massive oak tree that overlooked the entire Xavier property. Erik could still not get over how vast it was. _Country house, indeed,_ Erik thought wryly.

"What?" Erik said absently. Charles' head was on his lap and he looked down to find the professor looking up at him, Erik slipped his fingers through Charles' silky brown hair.

"You've haven't been here, Erik, for the past few days," Charles said gently poking Erik in the chest.

Erik sighed knowing he could not lie to the other man. "You're right," he finally said gently rubbing Charles' scalp.

"Anything wrong?" Charles said and sat up.

"No, just trying to throttle the voice that wants me to be jealous," Erik said. It was as disappointing to him as it probably was to Charles hearing it come out of his mouth.

"Oh, my Love, still jealous over Remy?" Charles said the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly and piercing Erik with his intense gaze.

"I know its stupid isn't it?" Erik said and sighed. He flopped down onto his back and starred up at the bright cloudless sky from under the shade of the tree. Erik took note that the sky was almost a match to Charles' eyes. Charles settled himself on Erik's chest and propped his chin on his hands to see the other man.

"Yes, a little, nonetheless, it is an endearing thought though completely and utterly misplaced. I have no intention of leaving, betraying or hurting you my dearest," Charles said noting the emotions playing on Erik's face.

Erik said nothing for a few minutes. "I know. Sometimes, it's just so hard to remember that this isn't a dream," Erik said willing the tears that pricked his eyes to just go away.

Charles wiped the ones that escaped with his thumb. His heart was so full of love and gratitude for the one holding him. He briefly wondered what would have happened to the both of them had Charles not been there to catch Erik from stumbling. Where would they be? Charles knew that if they had not found each other again, it would have been the greatest regret of his life. Erik, he suspected, would have felt the same way. Charles stared at the man who had easily changed his life forever and before he could stop himself said the words that seemed to be the most natural to him. "What would you say if I asked you to marry me?" Charles said and then realizing what he had just said squeaked in panic.

Erik was so startled at Charles' impromptu proposal that he sat up swiftly and dislodged the other man from his resting spot on Erik's chest. They could only stare at each other in disbelief with Charles as bright red as could be. _He beat me to the punch,_ Erik though dizzily, unbelieving and began grinning like a mad fool.

"I…um….erm….that didn't come out as I had planned," Charles finally said, eyes everywhere but Erik's face. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small box and opened it up to reveal a ring inside.

Erik, naturally, was reeling. And then he could not stop the grin from becoming any larger. He raised himself to one knee, pulled out the box _he_ had been carting around and said, "Charles Xavier, would _you_ do me the honor of marrying this humble man?"

Charles, realizing two seconds afterwards what Erik had said to him pulled Erik into a tight hug before kissing him silly. "I'd thought you'd never ask," he said when not breathing was no longer an option for them.

"Is that why you proposed first, beating me to the punch?" Erik smirked feeling his heart racing through his chest.

"Something like that," Charles murmured against Erik's mouth. Erik felt the heat of Charles' blush against his face. The feeling brought on another type of heat in Erik as he pushed Charles to the ground and rolled himself onto of him. Charles gasped before pulling him impossibly close.

It was quite a while before the two men managed to come back to the mansion decidedly rumpled, breathless, grass stained and wearing matching engagement rings.

* * *

><p>Both men sighed wearily. Erik loved his mother very much and no matter how understanding she was about his relationship with Charles Xavier, she was still a bit old school and put up the half-hearted fight when Erik announced their engagement. And once Ada Lehnsherr was in, she was all in. So, along with the half-hearted fight came the cajoling, the wailing and guilt trips.<p>

She was his mother through and through.

Raven and Emma were very much sympathetic to their plight and created a wall around the two of them whenever Ada had something to say to them. Erik knew then how much he loved his sister and his future sister-in-law with all his heart.

Well, the part of his heart that was occupied by Charles, of course.

They flopped, rather inelegantly, on their sofa in their newly purchased and renovated walk-up. Charles thought it was unfair to Raven to have Erik live with them in his apartment and he was hell bent against living with both Emma and Erik's mother. So, after giving Raven the apartment (which she accepted gleefully, thankyouverymuch) and an extensive search, Erik finally found them a lovely brownstone that needed a few touches here and there.

Both men were still wearing their tuxedos from the wedding but Charles had managed to undo his tie and it hung loosely around his neck while Erik's coat hung limply from a chair back. Charles' feet ached from the discarded shoes, while Erik's hair was uncharacteristically disheveled.

They sighed again and caught each other's eye. A huge grin spread out on their faces which rapidly became laughter. Erik fell to the floor in a loud lump, bringing with him Charles. Charles rested his forehead against Erik's shoulder as the laughter quietly died down.

"Oh, Love, I don't think I ever want to do _that_ again," Charles muttered into Erik's ear, licking the shell obscenely. His hands were staring to do wicked things to Erik's body. Erik was rapidly becoming unhinged from the proximity of Charles' tongue.

"What? Don't you think Mother's wailing of 'when will I ever have grandkids' punctuated everything nicely?" Erik grinned and shivered at what Charles was doing. Already he could feel himself swelling at Charles' tongue. Charles merely responded by unbuttoning his tuxedo shirt and gently biting on Erik's collarbone. He loved the way he could make Erik respond. It made him feel giddy. "I…ah…I think she was…oh….actually happy for us," Erik said gritting his teeth. He could feel Charles' hand begin to stroke him through his trousers. Erik's eyes rolled back into his head as he fought for control. He felt like a _very_ randy teenager. Erik fought his lustful thoughts shoving them out of his head and was losing very, very badly.

"The more you fight your lustful thoughts, the more you focus on them," Charles said picking up on Erik's thought. _How the hell did he do these things? _Charles didn't pay a bit of attention to what Erik may or may not be saying, "you're entirely too easy to read sometimes, Love," Charles said absently reminding him. Charles slipped his hands over Erik's body causing the other man to groan in appreciation. He smiled, "Now, you have entirely too much clothing on, my good man," he whispered seductively into Erik's ear. "Please allow me to help you with that, yes?" He unzipped Erik's pants and slipped them off leaving his tented boxers in its wake. Charles got on his hands and knees and onto Erik letting his own hardening cock press up against Erik's, bringing a very satisfied groan from the man. Charles rocked back onto his knees and began to slowly undo the rest of Erik's buttons on the white tuxedo shirt. He let his hands dance lightly over Erik's muscled chest, softly squeezing his nipples.

"Tease," Erik gasped. He arched his back, pressing his groin against Charles'. Erik smirked smugly as Charles' eyes rolled back into his head. He watched as Charles' bit his lower lip in ecstasy. Erik loved watching Charles come undone. It was just so damn sexy how he just fell apart, lips open, eyes bluer than anything he's ever seen, complete and utter trust. It was this trust that drove Erik completely insane. He had never seen anyone so full of trust for anyone. It made Erik's heart swell in pride and love to see him so.

Charles leaned down and gave Erik's ear another lascivious lick. Erik's eyes rolled back into his head and fighting for control took Charles' hips and neatly reversed their positions. Erik's knees where on either side of Charles' hips, firmly locking him into place. He stared intently into Charles' eyes and his undid the professor's pants and shirt and pulled them off his body, popping buttons off as he did.

Charles smirked, "I see we're going to have to _buy_ our rented tuxedoes."

"It's not like we can't afford it," Erik growled and continued to rip off Charles underwear. He swept his eyes appreciatively over Charles' body. "Honestly, I don't see why you have to hide your body under layers of clothing," he said sweeping his palms over Charles' muscled arms.

"What? And have you going completely insane with the number of men and women throwing themselves at me?" Charles gently retorted back.

Erik grinned. "Oh, I'm going to get you for that," he said, swiftly taking both of Charles wrists in one hand and placing them above Charles' head.

"What are you doing?" Charles said a little more than breathlessly as he eyed the belt that Erik produced from one of their pants.

"Punishment for that last remark, of course," Erik said mischievously as he slid the belt around Charles' wrists.

"Mmmm, kinky," was all Charles said, his too blue eyes turning ever bluer. Erik felt Charles' cock stiffen even more against him and if Erik didn't want him badly now Charles' cock pressing against his stomach didn't help matters. "Anything else you should be telling me?" Charles whispered his control rapidly decreasing.

Erik smirked. "I like whipped cream and chocolate sauce," he said and thought about the sinful things he could be doing to Charles with said ingredients.

"Duly noted," Charles said his voice barely above a hoarse whisper. Erik was now nibbling and sucking on Charles' throat bringing blooming bruises against his too pale neck. Charles moaned into Erik's ear and pressed his groin against Erik's wanting nothing more than to feel him inside.

"Now, now," Erik said, his voice husky and darkly amused, "you've been bad. You need to be punished."

"You tease," Charles said almost nearing his breaking point. Erik sensed this and placed his hands on the floor on either side of Charles' body. Charles almost wept from the lack of friction. "Please," he said. "Please, touch me, Erik."

Erik only smirked again and this time lowered himself to Charles' cock and lightly licked it, bringing a very loud moan from the semi-composed professor.

"Erik, stop teasing me and suck it already!" Charles cried finding his voice. Erik laughed again but did as the professor commanded him to do, taking the full length of Charles' cock into his mouth. Charles gasped as he felt Erik begin to suck him hard. He almost came in Erik's mouth if Erik hadn't slowed his pace. Charles was shaking and straining against the belt. He couldn't breathe and he saw white. "Erik," Charles said and receiving no answer, tried again. "Erik, please." The other man did not reply only increasing his pace once again and cupping Charles' balls lightly. Almost immediately Charles came, leaving him breathless, shaky and panting for more.

Erik kissed Charles' forehead and cheeks before crushing their mouths together in a kiss that could only be described as searing. His tongue demanded entrance into Charles' mouth and Charles could only obey tasting himself on Erik's tongue. Charles moaned again before Erik broke the kiss off and gently flipped the decidedly undone professor. Erik took care to place pillows beneath Charles' knees and slowly started kissing Charles's spine from tip to base. He briefly registered the small scar where Cain threw Charles into the lake so many years ago. He placed more kisses there trying to erase the scar with his overwhelming love before moving on.

"Erik," Charles said, his senses starting to come back to him. "Please untie me; I want to touch you too."

The plea almost undid Erik, but he barely kept his composure and said, "No."

"Damn you," Charles said through clenched teeth and gasped as Erik slapped his ass leaving a red mark. Erik kissed the soreness before slapping his ass again. Charles felt himself stiffen all over again and gasped as Erik's hand reached around him and stroked him hard. He felt his other hand prodding him gently before Erik replaced his fingers with his own hard cock. "Oh, fuck," Charles screamed as Erik lost his control and started to slam into him. He saw stars as he leaned his head against his forearms, his moans matched by Erik's. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god," Charles said over and over again – a chant to how good Erik felt.

"Charles…I can't….last," Erik finally said before coming with a choked cry. Charles felt Erik collapse against him as both men sank onto the floor. Erik unsteadily released Charles' wrists and pulled him flush against him. Charles kissed Erik's face, breathing unsteadily as they both came down from their shared high.

"Good grief," was all Charles could manage to say.

"_Good grief,"_ Erik said mimicking him. He grinned and raised an eyebrow. "That bad, huh?"

Charles laughed. "No, it was the most wonderful thing ever."

"I love you."

"And I love you, too."

Erik fell asleep smiling brightly with Charles' head pillowed on his chest.

Charles was smiling just as brightly.

* * *

><p>Epilogue<p>

Life does not have endings. It continues even after people are gone. Stories have endings, good and bad. The love between Erik and Charles was overwhelming, strong and solid. And like any other love story that continues even after the onlookers have left, their love had its ups and downs – mostly highs. To be sure there were many awkward moments; this was Charles and Erik, after all.

There was the whole ordeal with adopting a baby. Emma's wedding. Raven and Hanks' wedding. The whole run in with Charles' ex.

But all in all, the married life of Charles and Erik was peaceful…even if it was punctuated by the occasional tardiness of a certain professor.

End

* * *

><p><em>Thank you all for reading this little story of mine. I am quite pleased that I got this far with this little universe of mine. It was quite fun to write and seemed to be quite popular. I am forever grateful to all of you who have taken the time to read, review and favorite this story. Like I said before, there might be a foray here and there with the secondary characters…and *gasp* I might even have a rough outline for some of them. ;)<em>

_Once again, many many thanks to It's Rayning for giving me the lovely prompt. Who knew that it would spiral out like this?_

_Now, as for the soundtrack of this story, all I listened to were the sound tracks to Amelie and Micmacs – both lovely French movies with the exact music that seemed to fit the story…at least in my head._

_And now, that I've gotten it out of my system, it is time to return to the land of More Angst!_

_Reviews are strawberries. Gentle criticisms are chocolate covered strawberries_


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